


The Secret Reunion

by queertyuiop



Category: SHINee
Genre: Adventure, Angst with a Happy Ending, Korean cinema, M/M, North/South Korean relations, Spies & Secret Agents, former OnKey, main pairing OnTae, mentions of MinKey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-11
Updated: 2014-10-01
Packaged: 2018-02-19 12:46:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2388737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queertyuiop/pseuds/queertyuiop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lee Jinki is a clumsy but well-meaning agent for the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS). Lee Taemin is a protegé of the Shadow, a seasoned and bloodthirsty North Korean assassin. When a job goes wrong for both men, their respective agencies and nations abandon them. Six years later, a union is formed as the two pretend not to know each other, hoping to use the other to achieve their own ends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Secret Reunion](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/76535) by director Hun Jang. 



> This fic is based on the movie of the same title (or in Korean 의형제). It's quite possibly the greatest Korean film I've ever seen, and I strongly encourage you to watch it. (It is now on Netflix.) My only hope with this fic is to be able to do the movie and the pairing justice; I'm going to be sticking pretty close to the original film, at least for the most part, but I'm also going to be changing things up (obviously, as this isn't a gay film). If you've not watched it, you might want to do that before you read this fic. Or don't, but you'll likely know almost everything that happens if you read.

It was raining outside, and unseen clouds blanketed the dark blue sky as a seasonal rainstorm fell on the streets of Seoul. The young man closed his small window after reaching out to feel some of the cold rain on his fingertips, and made his way over to the computer desk he'd been attached to all evening. Waiting. He turned down the volume of the music program he was watching and picked up his cellphone, speaking in a soothing tone into the receiver.

"Once upon a time, there was a tree, and a man who loved the tree. Every day, the man would come to the tree, and collect all the falling leaves..." he said softly, clicking the refresh button on his screen every now and then and watching for that new message to come into his inbox. Suddenly it was there, and he sighed softly into the receiver. "Jinwoo-yah, I have to go now. I'll call back later," he said as he prepared to hung up before a little voice cut him off. "Hyung!" the small boy cried, sounding upset. "This time...you'll really be coming home, right?" he asked softly, the smallest hint of childish hope lingering in his voice.

"Absolutely...no matter what," he said quietly, murmuring a goodbye and hanging up. Now for serious business--he opened his junk mail folder and stared at the strange foreign words, something about a car shipment or something, but the words weren't what he was looking for. It was numbers. He hurried to his bookshelf and pulled down an old novel by  some Chinese author, walking over to his desk again and opening it to a certain page to begin. He grabbed two rulers and aligned them according the the code laid out before him on the screen, searching for the right words to reveal his contact's message.

"Important task. Make contact. Bus station. Apartment. Second cousin."

His eyes widened slightly as he stared down at the paper...of course he'd known this mission was coming, but he couldn't have anticipated it coming so quickly. He only hoped that he could do his country proud with his work under the Shadow, and be able to return home at last.

* * *

It had already been a long day at the office, and they'd had absolutely zero leads on any of the cases they were watching right now. He picked up the phone and dialed a number, waiting as it rang and rang before finally smiling slightly as a little boy picked up the phone. "Hey, Jjongie, it's appa...wait, no, don't give the phone--" he sighed as his ex-wife came on the line. "Gwiboon-ah, hello again. You know, you should really teach him to take my calls instead of passing me off on you all the time," he said with a heavy sigh as he was promptly blamed for not teaching their son manners. "I taught him just fine, it's you that hasn't taught him anything...and no, sending him to some fancy boarding school isn't going to teach him anything at all," he said before being interrupted by one of the office's many detectives.

"Sir! It's Taesoon!" the man whispered as he held his hand over the phone he was holding and motioned toward it urgently. Well, shit.

"Look, I gotta go but I'll call back," he said softly.

"Don't bother."

"I love you guys," he said with a frown.

"Bullshit."

He rolled his eyes as he switched lines; his ex-wife was insane...he was probably better off anyway. "Taesoon-ah? It's me," he said and waited as he was told about the fax that should have come through. He glanced over to the machine and nodded, standing quickly at the new information he was being given. The Shadow was on the move. "I've got it, thanks, bye," he said and quickly hung up, grabbing the paper off their fax machine and taking it for some of the computer experts to input and hopefully decode.

Jinki sighed in frustration as the agency's computers failed yet again to decode the strange message being passed along the e-mail network they'd been clued into by their informant. "Seriously...how long is this going to take to get some real answers?" he asked one of his assistants.

"Three days, sir," was the somewhat exasperated reply.

"Three days? Are you kidding me? We don't have three days," he said as he moved to one of the computers and tried to work on it himself. In a matter of moments, all the office's screens began flashing with error messages. "What the hell..." he said with a frustrated sigh as he slammed his hand down on the desk.

* * *

Lee Taemin walked down one of Seoul's busier streets, putting up fake flyers for some music festival every few feet like some common worker as he waited for his sign. He got it when a man pulled up in a black sedan and called out to him. "Excuse me, do you know the way to the cathedral?" the man asked politely, staring up at Taemin through the open passenger window with a knowing look on his face. He walked closer to the car, staring off into the distance as if thinking about it. "I can give you better directions if you give me a ride," he said and climbed into the car at the other's nod.

* * *

Jinki watched the dashboard camera intently as their agent Kyungsam tailed the black sedan they'd lent to their informant, frowning as he watched the car swerve slightly before turning rapidly and disappearing from sight. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he said into the radio, receiving stammered apologies in return. "Forget it, keep driving and go home," he said with a heavy sigh. He turned to his team and motioned them all in closer. "They're on the move, so everyone get to the cars and stand by. Confirm the last known location," he shouted to one of the technicians as he ran to the safe in the office and punched in a lengthy PIN, opening the box and retrieving a pistol. His second-in-command, Minsuk, glanced at him worriedly. "Sir, shouldn't we call for backup?" he asked and frowned. Jinki just shook his head. "No...we can't let the other team beat us on this one. We can handle this; now let's go."

* * *

It wasn't long before they reached the bus station. He walked among the crowds of people, searching for his next sign. "Ah, excuse me sir," he said as he attempted to sit where an elderly gentleman had placed his bag. Right on cue, the man moved the briefcase and continued to read his newspaper. Taemin promptly fished in his pocket for his cellphone, dropping it on the ground and watching out of the corner of his eye as the man stood and began to walk away. He grabbed the pieces of his phone and followed at a safe distance, barely nodding to acknowledge when he saw Taesoon do the same from across the platform.

They were led to a large apartment complex just a few blocks away, the old man finally turning to acknowledge him. "I need to use the restroom," he said simply and walked down a set of stairs into an open area that had restrooms and vending machines. The two young men followed, shooting glances at one another as they walked into the bathroom behind their mentor. The old man had sat down in a doorless stall, opening his briefcase and withdrawing a gun that he was currently putting a silencer on as he stared at the two of them like a hawk watching its prey.

"Dance."

The two young spies glanced at one another, and Taemin wondered if the Shadow really was just as batshit crazy as everyone said he was. Still, he was one of the best--no, the very best--assassin the North had in their ranks, an honor Taemin hoped he would someday hold as well. He wondered if this was the old man's idea of a joke.

"I said dance. You know, the idol dances the kids here enjoy so much," he said with an air of authority in his tone.

Okay, so he wasn't joking.

The two began to shift and start dancing, their movements a little stiff at first but gradually becoming more comfortable. Taesoon looked like a flailing idiot as he tried his best to mimick the latest dances, but Taemin was trying his hardest to concentrate and do well even with this silly task; of course, his dancing was better than he'd like to admit, partially because he'd been watching so many music programs for so long.

The Shadow emerged from his stall and held up a hand for them to stop, chuckling like the deranged killer he was as he looked them up and down. "Looks like all our funding's been put into dance lessons," he said as he glanced at Taemin. "You're more agile, so you'll come with me. You, stay down here," he said to Taesoon as he motioned for Taemin to follow him out of the restroom and into the daylight once more.

* * *

The NIS agents were riding caravan down the freeway, waiting for the call to come in from Taesoon to let them know what the hell was going on. Finally Jinki's cellphone rang, and he picked it up quickly. He listened for just a moment before hanging up just as fast, motioning for the driver to speed up. "They've reached the apartment complex in Gyeongsu-dong," he said and sat there for a moment, puzzled at the random location. "Who lives in those apartments..?" he asked more to himself than any one of his team. Suddenly, realization dawned and his eyes widened with an expression akin to fear. "Oh God...Kim Seung-hak. Kim Jung-il's second cousin. Step on it!" he shouted as he grabbed the external radio, calling for cars to move out of their way. This situation had just gotten a lot more serious.

* * *

"You can keep this," the old man said as he handed Taemin a curved, deadly-looking knife. The younger slipped the weapon into his inner coat pocket and nodded, walking toward the elevator just behind the other. The older man sighed and rolled his shoulders slightly as they ascended, as if he was preparing for an exercise routine or something. "Ah...I can already feel the bloodbath," he said with a hit of a smirk about his lips as he glanced up at Taemin. "Just follow my directions; once we're finished here, we'll part on the first floor, then rendevous at the bus station and head back together." Taemin nodded, his heart rate increasing just slightly at the thought of going home at last.

Two knocks, and then an elderly woman's voice resounded from the other side of the door. "We're from the church," Taemin said in a warm tone and stared blankly as the woman opened the door. "Pardon us," said the older man, "but is Kim Seunghak home?" The old woman looked at them suspiciously and shook her head. "He's gone to the corner store...what did you want?" she asked and looked them up and down.

"Are you the mother-in-law?" asked the Shadow, receiving a nod from the lady. He raised his gun and promptly shot her right between the eyes.

Taemin's eye twitched slightly at the disgusting splatter of blood and brain matter on the wall behind the old woman, then caught sight of the daughter staring down at her mother's lifeless body. Just as she opened her mouth to scream, he ran into the apartment and grabbed her, covering her mouth to muffle the noises as the Shadow slowly stepped in and dragged the old woman to a spot beside the kitchen table. His arm tightened around the girl's waist as she struggled, crying and screaming incessantly and just really being obnoxious to tell the truth. This did not go unnoticed by the older man, who looked at the woman and then Taemin before making a sign like slicing his throat.

He wanted her dead...and Taemin was going to have to kill her. This was what he was trained for, right? All those years in military school, and this is where it was supposed to lead him. But still, as he pulled the knife from his pocket and held it to the crying woman's throat, feeling her renewed thrashing about as she realized her life was about to meet an abrupt end...he couldn't bring himself to do it. He shook his head, staring at his mentor apologetically before ducking as the gun raised rapidly and shot the woman just as it had her mother. The Shadow walked over and stood over the dead body, shooting her repeatedly until he was satisfied with the amount of bloodshed. Taemin could only watch in disgust.

After they'd washed their hands of the womens' blood and moved the bodies to lay together in the kitchen, he decided to speak up. "I don't really think this was necessary..." he said softly, staring down at the older man with a slight frown on his features. "They really didn't do anything," he continued, but fell silent at the look he received from the elder.

"Look, I'll tell you this straight since you're like my son," said the Shadow calmly, gesturing with his gun toward the dead women on the floor. "These romantic Southerners are whores; every last one of them. Take her for example," he said and pointed to the young woman. "She married a defector out of compassion, and she was killed for it." Taemin just sighed, wishing they had been able to find Kim Seunghak alone at home instead of finding his family first.

* * *

The agents surrounded the apartment complex, barricading the area and keeping passersby out as they tried to discern what they should do next. "Which floor?" Jinki asked one of the agents that had been working on gathering information as they'd traveled. "Apartment 1103, 11th floor!" the man reported quickly, and seven of their men rushed immediately into the apartments, some taking the elevator while even more took to the stairs. He hoped to God they weren't too late.

* * *

As they heard the door being unlocked, the two men rushed over and readied themselves for the next task; killing the traitor they'd been sent to dispose of at last. The door opened, and the Shadow grabbed the man by his collar and threw him into the room, immediately walking over and beginning to kick him in the face and gut. "You worthless scum...you leech off our great nation's generosities, and then publish a book defaming our leader?" he said with a disgusted snarl as he pointed his gun at the man's head. "I've dreamed of killing you every single night.."

Taemin looked away and was surprised to find a small boy, no more than five years old, standing there staring at his father being brutally beaten. He tried to catch the boy's eye and nod toward the door, hoping he would leave before something worse happened, but he heard the gun cocking and rushed over to block the child's view as his father was murdered. The boy started crying against his chest, and Taemin just cradled his head against his neck as he waited for the Shadow's next move. He didn't expect what happened next; the old man raised his gun to point at the back of the child's head, and Taemin's eyes widened as he reached up and grabbed the barrel to prevent it from firing. "No...he's just a child.." he said in a sort of plea, but the assassin's face was firm and bordering rage as he responded. "Don't you forget...our great nation cannot afford to have a single weak son," he said sternly as he tried to shake the gun from Taemin's grasp. His eyes narrowed as the other's face stayed determined to keep the boy alive. Just then, the sound of the elevator was heard along with shouting and footsteps running up the stairs. "How dare you betray me like this?!" he hissed, and Taemin shook his head quickly. "It wasn't me, I haven't betrayed anyone!"

The Shadow ran out the door and up the apartment's stairs, leaving Taemin to take the child out into the hallway. Maybe if they hurried down looking panicked no one would think twice about them...but it was too late. Several agents in suits carrying guns burst forth from the elevator, surrounding him as he knelt there with the little boy; several more rushed up the stairs toward the upper floors. Quickly he concocted his story. "I just live next door," he said calmly, holding up his hands innocently. "I heard the boy crying and rushed over..." he said, but then gunshots rang out from the stairwell and he was pushed past by a few of the agents as they bolted after their teammates. "Stand up and put your hands on your head," one of the two remaining men said sternly. He did so slowly, keeping his eyes wide and innocent in hopes the others would believe his story...but then something clattered to the ground and both agents' eyes went straight to the sharp metal weapon laying on the floor. His knife.

'Damn it,' he thought as he grabbed one agent by the collar and slammed him into the other, kicking out as one came back at him and hitting the other man's head against the wall until he slid to the floor, lifeless. Two more agents came rushing down the stairs, but he quickly pressed the button for the elevator and grabbed the child, dodging their poorly-aimed gunfire and closing the elevator doors quickly as they descended toward the first floor.

* * *

Jinki heard gunshots ring out over his radio, and in the air as the people surrounding the area started screaming and running in terror from the scene. He grabbed the radio and shouted into the receiver, having heard no updates from his team. "Hello? Hello! What's going on up there?! Agent Ko? Agent Ko?!" he shouted, hearing nothing but static on the other end before a voice came on at last. "Agent Lee! Kyungnam's dead, and several others! We're in pursuit of Shadow, but one went down!"

"Shit," he said as he looked at the remaining men surrounding him. "Over there, seal off that exit. Every exit except this main one, I want them sealed off!" he said as he spoke into the radio again. "Agent Ko! I need a physical description...what does the guy look like?" There were gunshots on the other end before the same man spoke again. "Tall, about 6 feet, wearing a black suit!" he said before more gunfire drowned out any voices. He glanced around, looking for someone fitting the description, and paused as he saw only one possibility.

* * *

Taemin had handed the child over to a woman who recognized him, hurrying past people out of the apartment complex and trying to get away from the scene as fast as possible; if he could find Taesoon, regroup, maybe they'd be able to make it to the station in time...

He stopped dead in his tracks as he stared at an NIS van, the side door open wide and revealing a frowning Taesoon who was being offered a cigarette by one of the female agents. 'That traitorous son of a bitch,' he thought as he glared silently at his "comrade", before glancing around once more. There was an NIS agent staring at him...shit. He couldn't just run, that would make him look suspicious; fortunately, he didn't have to come up with a plan of escape as just then, there was gunfire right across the street at the apartment's entrance, and all hell broke loose.

* * *

Jinki's head whipped around quickly as he heard the gunshots, and he saw the Shadow run from the building, hop on a delivery man's scooter and speed away. He ran after him immediately, firing a few stray shots but making no progress whatsoever as the cold-blooded killer made it onto the freeway and sped up, leaving him panting and cursing in his wake.

* * *

It was night again, and Taemin had been sitting in the same seat at the bus station for the past eight hours or so. It was obvious the Shadow wasn't going to show up, but still he had to keep waiting. He had no other option, no other purpose in life than to be right here. Waiting, as he had always waited.

* * *

Jinki was sitting with his head hung low in the police morgue, listening to the wailing of his teammates' families as they mourned the losses of their loved ones. Minsuk sat beside him, injured and equally downhearted but otherwise okay as they waited for their director to come and let them go home. The man finally walked up and stared--no, glared--down at Jinki. "What did you think you were doing out there?! Why didn't you report in and call for backup?" he asked, his voice harsher than Jinki had ever heard it. "I..." he began, then sighed as he stood slowly and fixed the other with a regretful gaze. "I was afraid of our team being eliminated; we can't keep up with the others even on normal terms, so--" he was cut off by a slap to his face, sending him back into his seat as he clutched his reddened cheek and stared down at the ground. "You be ready," the director said and walked away, leaving him with wounded pride and with a wounded spirit.

* * *

Lee Taemin sat at his computer, hitting the refresh button every five seconds as he had for the past four hours, still waiting on some form of contact from his superiors, his country, his home. Finally, a new piece of junk mail showed up and he immediately began to decode its contents, hoping there were directions for returning by himself instead of with the Shadow.

"Betrayal. Unforgivable. Worthless."

His eyes teared up at the words on the page; how could they just throw him away like this? How could he be left stranded so far from everything he'd ever known, and for committing no crime whatsoever? He was going to kill Taesoon...he was going to kill him for ruining his life and everything he'd ever wished for himself.

Maybe then he could go home.

* * *

Lee Jinki sat in his apartment, an open can of beer by his side as he watched the news with little to no interest as to what was going on. He'd lost everything...his family, his team, his dignity, and now his job. The notification had come by e-mail, of all things; how could someone be told of their "honorable discharge" through such an impersonal process? That bastard of a director would realize his mistake one day, surely, and then he'd come asking for Jinki once again. Yeah, that's what was going to happen...any day now, his life would go back to normal.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee Jinki is a clumsy but well-meaning agent for the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS). Lee Taemin is a protegé of the Shadow, a seasoned and bloodthirsty North Korean assassin. When a job goes wrong for both men, their respective agencies and nations abandon them. Six years later, a union is formed as the two pretend not to know each other, hoping to use the other to achieve their own ends.

* * *

_One day after "the incident"_

* * *

Two men sat in the waiting area at the NIS headquarters, sighing heavily as they waited for their respective fates. Taesoon's phone rang, and he glanced at the number before picking it up. With a glance toward the NIS agent beside him, he slowly passed over the phone.  
  
Jinki picked it up and began to speak. "Hello. I'm the agent leading this case...now, I want you to know that we don't want to hurt you, and we're not after you at all. We're looking for the Shadow; if you can help us, I promise I will help you and Taesoon. We'll take care of both of you, as long as you help us. Taesoon tells me that you graduated from Kim Jung-il's military school...that's all I know of you. I don't know your name, or anything else about you. I don't even know your face." He'd stood and walked over to the board they'd been using to keep the pictures from that day's fiasco, and paused at the one he'd had Taesoon circle and place a note on that read his friend's name clearly: Lee Taemin. The one that got away...well, one of the two that got away. Technically. He focused back on the phone conversation, realizing Taemin had said nothing still. "Here, I'll give you my private number in case you wish to contact me. Memorize it. 01-085-472--"  
  
The line went dead.  
  
"Son of a bitch!" he groaned and threw the cell phone across the room, sighing as he sank to the floor. That was their only hope of a lead on the Shadow. Now he knew for sure his job would be gone; he was useless to the agency.

* * *

_Six years later_

* * *

Jinki glared as he hung up the phone from another failed talk with his son, looking across the street to where his two "employees" were supposed to be hanging up an advertisment for their business. "Yah! That's crooked--fix it! I'm paying you nuts $1,500 each...you're nothing but highway robbers!" he barked, rolling his eyes at the bumbling idiots he'd hired. He wasn't even trying to be mean, but these two young men were probably the most dim-witted human beings he'd ever encountered. If he hadn't been trying to do their parents a favor by taking them under his wing, and if he could do this job on his own, he wouldn't have even bothered with them. Finally, after much babbling and tugging and heaving from Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, the sign was up and at an angle so passersby could read it: 'Private Investigation Agency - Specializing in Returning Runaway Children and Teens to Their Families'.  
  
The tall man wearing a light grey suit walked into the police station, taking off his sunglasses to reveal handsome features and tired-looking eyes as he walked up to the newly-promoted chief of police and shook his hand. "Congratulations--you deserve this," he said to his friend, smiling. "So, you wanted to ask me something?"  
  
"Jinki-ssi," the chief said with a warm smile at his friend of several years. "You really didn't have to come out on such a hot day as this; since you did, though, there is something I'd like you to help me with," he said and motioned the other toward a chair so he could shuffle through some papers on his desk and find what he was looking for. Finally he came across a set of three 'wanted' bulletins, and handed them over to the other man. "We've been trying to catch these bastards for a long time," he said with a heavy sigh. "These Vietnamese are notorious con artists, but their latest scheme is probably one of the worst our little region has seen in a long time. They offer to take in runaways off the street, on the condition that they go to work for them to pay for their housing and food. Then they put them to work in the construction yard they run; it's child labor, it's illegal, and it's causing a lot of people a lot of problems." He motioned toward the paper Jinki was currently holding. "That's the ring leader--he's half-Korean, but honestly he's worse than the Vietnamese. I'm going to give you the address for the construction yard...go this weekend, on Friday night. There's a game, and the boss is nuts about soccer. You'll definitely be able to find him there."  
  
Jinki nodded and took the three papers, sticking them in his coat pocket and bowing as he made his exit. He'd have to take the idiots along on this job, but hopefully it would all work out okay...it was rare they got to do something this serious; if he was being honest, he was looking forward to it.  
  
The three men walked into the construction yard, grabbing some Vietnamese flags from some women by the entrance and walking under the scaffolding into the main area where all were alive with excitement. Some women were singing and waving in traditional clothes from the back of a pickup truck, and several men were playing on drums every time a goal was scored. A few screens had been set up around the area, and hundreds of construction workers were drinking and waving their flags excitedly at the ongoing game. Jinki climbed up into the scaffolding, instructing his two workers to fan out and start looking for the men they were meant to capture that evening. He stared down at the crowd, keeping back into the shadows so he wouldn't be seen and trying to figure out where the boss was. Finally he spotted a man in a gaudy white suit and a Yankees cap, sitting in a lawn chair with a beer in one hand and a flag in the other. The man appeared to be talking to some men and women gathered around him...he looked important enough to be the boss, but he couldn't be sure. "Chansung-ah," he called into the radio he'd brought so they could communicate while separated, "do you see the big guy in the white suit, to your right? I can't be sure from my position, but he looks like our guy...can you confirm?"  
  
Jinki wasn't sure what he expected from his fool of a worker; maybe he expected a simple "I'unno" in return, or something equally unhelpful. What he did not expect, which of course was exactly what happened, was for the idiot to march right over to the man in question, bend a little to get a good look at him, and then turn to give him a thumbs up. "I think it's him...should I grab him?" were the words that came over the radio, and Jinki was this close to having an aneurysm as he ducked and tried to stay hidden from anyone who might be curious about his worker's behavior. "Are you crazy?!" he hissed into the radio. "Do you want to get yourself killed or something?? Get out of there, now!"  
  
He stood again and started down the scaffolding, turning to try and see where Chansung had gone. When he couldn't see him anywhere, he began looking for his brother and finally spotted him among a group of the workers, drinking and waving his flag like he was just another fan. "You idiot! We're not here to party, damn it--go look for Chansung, I can't find him and I think he's in trouble!" he called out over the channel, hurrying down and trying to see if he could find the guy in the white suit again...the game was over; had they really missed their opportunity so easily?  
  
It wasn't five minutes until he heard the radio beep and Chansung's voice to come over the receiver. "Um...boss, we're kinda screwed here." Jinki's eye twitched as he tried to locate the others by their clothing and finally spotted what he thought was them around the back of the yard. "I'll be right there, hang on," he said and broke into a jog, hurrying to make sure his employees weren't brutally murdered or something. That just wouldn't be good, not at all. When he did finally make it to the others' position, he sighed heavily at their stupidity. There were just three men there, including the boss; still, each looked relatively harmless compared to the chaos he was sure the dumb duo could unleash through no fault of their own. "You two are going to be the death of me..." he groaned as he walked toward them and gave each a slap on the back of the head.  
  
That was when he heard a sound from behind him, something like wood hitting the palm of a hand; he turned slowly and found he was absolutely right...there were at least ten more workers standing behind them, each wielding something that looked at the least unpleasantly painful at at the most deadly. "Shit..." he muttered under his breath and quickly pulled his gun out of his pocket; of course he couldn't have a real one, since he was technically a civilian now, but there was nothing in the law about carrying a gas gun. He pointed it toward the crowd of men, staring them down and sighing heavily when they looked completely un-intimidated and instead began to rush toward them, makeshift weapons held high. "You two take the big guy, I'll deal with these," he said confidently and turned to ready himself for the fight to come. When he heard the sound of screams from behind him, though, he couldn't help but turn. The two men had banded together, all right...they were running off into the trees at the edge of the yard, leaving him behind to deal with their problem.  
  
"You idiots! Come back here!" he called, but suddenly he couldn't have said anything if he wanted to because the wind was knocked out of him and it was just a tumbling pile of arms and legs, and he was caught in the middle. He flailed wildly, kicking and punching wherever he could and trying to land as many hits on the men as possible to make up for the serious beating he was taking. He finally managed to stand and back away a few paces, grabbing his gun and shooting a couple clouds of gas at the crowd of angered workers before being overtaken once more. He could feel that they were rolling down some kind of embankment, but he was a little too busy getting the shit kicked out of him to really care where they were going at that point. He threw a few more well-placed punches and kicked one man's jaw before he felt something like rope being wrapped around him from all angles; within moments he was completely immobile, kneeling there with a bunch of angrily jabbering men surrounding him. Just a second later, one of the men pulled out a knife and his eyes widened considerably. "No! Stop it! Get a--guh..." His shouts were interrupted as he was shoved painfully onto his side, the wind being knocked from his lungs for the second time that night as suddenly his captors were being flung in all directions as if by some unstoppable force.  
  
That force was a slender young man in jeans, a leather jacket, and a ball cap, who had broken into the circle of men and started pushing and kicking them away from their "prey". The workers, having spotted a new target for their rage, rushed at the man and were immediately made into human-sized rag dolls, their bodies flying through the air as they were thrown and kicked back from the more experienced and graceful fighter. God, was he ever graceful. Jinki watched through half-lidded eyes as the man seemed to dance around his enemies, the tall and lithe form bending this way and that to avoid blows and bending right back to deliver them with no mercy and no holding back. He was like a force of destruction, but a destruction so controlled and flawless that it was probably the most beautiful display Jinki had ever seen. He was like a god, tearing the world to pieces meticulously and remaking it into something strange and wonderful.  
  
"Enough!" the low tenor cried out to the workers in their own native tongue. "Get out of here before I call the police, all of you," he said from behind what Jinki thought appeared to be a white surgical mask--was he a worker in the yard, too? The men stood and glared at them, groaning at their various wounds and looking like they hadn't yet decided whether the man's threat was real or not. Finally the boss walked up, barking at all of them to get out of there and not cause any more trouble. He turned to the man who'd saved Jinki first and spoke. "I'm letting you go because we won the game tonight..." he said with a huff, then fixed Jinki with a glare. "You...I will kill you if we meet again." He spat on the ground beside Jinki and turned to walk away, his men dispersing along with him into the night.  
  
Jinki was still laying helplessly on his side, watching all this unfold, but suddenly he was pulled up to a sitting position and felt the bonds that had held him being cut. He rubbed his wrists, hissing at the pain he felt before looking at the man who saved him, who'd knelt to help him up. "Are you alright..?" the man asked softly, his Korean sounding much more natural than the gibberish he'd been speaking before.  
  
"Yeah...thanks for that," he said as he tried to get the rest of the rope off of him. He glanced up again quickly at the other's face and was taken aback by what he saw there now that no mask hid his features.  
  
He knew that face.  
  
Lee Taemin.  
  
He had to think fast, so as he had already done a double take he made up a reason for such odd behavior. "Ah! You're Korean..." he said as if in shock. "How can you speak Vietnamese so well?"  
  
The slightly taller youth shrugged slightly. "Most of our workers here are Vietnamese, so I picked it up out of convenience." Jinki just nodded, figuring as long as he played dumb he could get out of this situation and go regroup or formulate some plan...he'd need to get Taemin as close as possible so he could find the right time and the right way to turn him over to the NIS. Then maybe he'd get his job back...everything would be normal again, at last...  
  
"Say, what's your name?" he asked curiously, staring up into the killer's face now with no trace of familiarity on his features.  
  
"Why?" was the response, and Jinki couldn't help but wither a bit at the insolence he was receiving from the young man. Seriously, he was at least four years this guy's senior. Then again, he was a Northerner...disrespect was something they did very well.  
  
"Well, I would like to thank the person who saved me," he said, and even as he said it he could feel that he sounded like some ex-damsel in distress, trying to thank her handsome knight in shining armor. The man was handsome, that much was true, but that didn't make his behavior any more sensible. Oh well...he was accustomed to being the "odd" one.  
  
"No need to thank me. Just go home and treat your wounds," the young man said softly, and Jinki couldn't help but feel a little tightening in his chest. This bastard was pretending to be a caring, normal person when in reality he was nothing more than a cold-blooded killer. Stupid son of a bitch, being all weird and kind and stuff. Just then, a worker appeared near the edge of the scaffolding and motioned for the man. "Yoojin-ssi!" he called, and the man stood silently and began to walk away, leaving Jinki with no more than a fake first name to go on. He had to do something...he had to have a reason for contacting Taemin--or Yoojin, apparently--again.  
  
"Hey!" he called, and was relieved to see the other stop, if a bit hesitantly. "Um, I know this is weird to ask you like this, but...how would you like to come and work for me?" he asked with a friendly smile. Damn, he was such a good actor.  
  
"I'm fine where I am, thanks."  
  
Jinki had to work very hard so his eye wouldn't twitch and give away his irritation. "What was your name again...Yoojin-ssi? Like I said, I know it's weird and stuff, but with your fighting skills and your agility, you're practically a natural in this line of work I'm in." He stepped forward and pulled out a business card, handing it to the man and smiling. "It's a legitimate field, and comes highly recommended; besides, it will get you out of this nasty construction business. What do you say?"  
  
The other sighed visibly, looking at him and shaking his head slightly. "I like my current work," was all he said before turning around and walking away, tucking the card into his jeans' back pocket.  
  
"Well, um, think about it and...yeah, goodbye," Jinki said awkwardly and sighed, turning to walk back toward his jeep so he could finally go home. When he saw his two current employees come out of the trees and walk toward him, he glared. "Key. Now," he said and caught the key from Chansung. "Go home...stop wasting your lives, both of you," he said and walked off toward the vehicle amidst cries of "Hey, boss!" and "Oh man, he's really leaving us??".  
  
A figure stood just behind a curtain of heavy plastic that was hanging from the scaffolding, watching the NIS agent walk back to his vehicle and leave his two worthless workers in the dust. He slid the knife he'd been holding in his palm back into the inner pocket of his jacket, somehow grateful that he hadn't needed to use it. He pulled out the business card and glanced at it.  
  
"Lee Jinki...we meet again," he said as he turned and walked back into the shadows.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee Jinki is a clumsy but well-meaning agent for the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS). Lee Taemin is a protegé of the Shadow, a seasoned and bloodthirsty North Korean assassin. When a job goes wrong for both men, their respective agencies and nations abandon them. Six years later, a union is formed as the two pretend not to know each other, hoping to use the other to achieve their own ends.

A beige sedan pulled out from the checkpoint at the recently established Reunification Effort Facility, where political scientists and military analysts had been trying to find ways to, as the unit's name suggested, unite the two Koreas as one yet again. A grey-haired, bespectacled man who looked to be in his sixties pulled his car down to the traffic light, sitting there watching the color being reflected on the wet pavement as he waited for the light to turn green. Suddenly, he heard his back door open and shut; he looked up quickly, sighing when he saw a familiar face despite it being partly hidden beneath a ball cap. "Taemin-ah...to what do I owe this visit?" he asked softly. He felt sorry for the young man; blinded by ill-founded patriotism, he was going to waste his own life to save the lives of those who couldn't care less if he lived or died. And he was going to do it in a fruitless attempt to regain his honor in a country that no longer called him its son.

"I made contact with an NIS agent yesterday, by chance. His name is Lee Jinki," said the young man quietly. He pulled a card from his pocket and handed it up to the man. "He asked me to work for him."

"He didn't recognize you, did he?"

"No. He's never seen my face."

"Lee Jinki...hm," said the older man. He couldn't remember the name, probably because he had never seen the face. Either that, or age was just catching up to him. He looked at the business card in his hand, handing it back to Taemin once he had taken a good look so he could continue on toward the next light. "It looks like a private business," he said simply.

"It's his cover, I'm sure," Taemin said with a slight scowl. The old man sighed; he wished the younger would stop jumping at shadows and just do what was best for himself, which would be to align himself with the non-murderous side of this war...it had been a while since he said anything, so he decided to bring it up. "Taemin-ah...you've spent six years running, without any need to do so. Have you ever just thought of calling it quits? There's a good life for you if--"

"You made me into what I am back in military school," the youth spat. "So excuse me if I'm not interested in betraying everything I've learned and turning my back on my country like a coward. Like you."

At that blunt insult, the older man turned and glared at his younger. "You need to watch what--"

He was cut off again as the car door was already open, the agile young man stepping out into the rain. "I won't visit you again," he said simply before walking away into the night.

The light turned green, and so the old man just sighed and drove on.

* * *

Jinki was driving in the rain on the way back to his apartment, working on the plan he'd been developing in his mind for dealing with Lee Taemin, when he realized he needed to place a call. He pulled out his cellphone and hit the speed dial, smiling as he thought of his old friend whom he hoped would be able to help him out a bit with this situation.

"Minsuk-ah, how are you?" he said upon hearing the man's confused "hello". When asked who he was, he sighed heavily; had he seriously been forgotten just like that? "It's your mother--who the hell do you think it is?" he said with the trademark impatience he'd always had during their working hours. He couldn't help it...he'd always liked things to run smoothly.

At the other's recognition, he chuckled softly. "Tell me, Minsuk-ah, do you have time to come over tonight? I'll give you my address--yah, I've hit the jackpot," he said with another laugh. He hung up the phone after hearing a simple "yeah", ignoring the questions that had started since he'd be answering them soon enough in person.

It was several hours later when he heard a knock on his door. He got up from the couch and walked over to see who it was, having nearly forgotten about his invitation to his old colleague. "Minsuk! Come in! You haven't changed a bit," he said and smiled, hugging his old friend and ushering him into the living room as he took the bag the other offered; "Oh wow...you didn't have to bring anything," he said humbly as he took the gift and peered inside. "Nevermind, this is good. Chicken and beer...now it's officially a party," he said with a grin as he sat down on the other end of the couch.

"So, boss, what did you want to talk to me about?" Minsuk prodded slightly, wanting to know about this "jackpot" the other had found, whatever it was.

"Minsuk-ah, do you remember a North Korean assassin by the name of Lee Taemin?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. His grin widened at the slow nod, and he leaned forward to grasp the other's shoulder as he spoke his next sentence lowly. "I found him," he said with a hint of pride in his tone; it had been six years, but he'd finally found the bastard and now maybe through him he could figure out where the Shadow was and bring him to justice.

"Seriously? You found him, just like that?" said the other with wide eyes. "How did you recognize him so fast?"

"Please, Minsuk-ah...you know I can never forget a face. I knew him immediately."

"But he didn't catch on at all?"

"Of course not--if I'd been obvious about recognizing him, that would have been the end of it; I played along like I didn't even know him, and he didn't suspect a thing." Jinki laughed and opened one of the beers, grinning. "You know I've always been a good actor," he said, chuckling.

Minsuk just shook his head; his boss really was an amazing guy. He pulled out his phone and started to dial the agency, smiling happily at him. "Thank you so much...my arrest record hasn't been the best lately," he said as he held the phone to his ear.

"Minsuk-ah, I didn't tell you so you could arrest him," Jinki said lowly. "I'm going to run this case, and you're going to help me...so keep it away from the agency, okay?" he said with a hopeful expression.

"Hm...okay," said the other with a slight shrug as he shut his phone and began to dig into the chicken while he listened to the other's plan.

* * *

Jinki walked around the eastern edge of the construction yard, standing on the highest level of the scaffolding so he would have a good look at the workers. He wore a hat to disguise himself, and had an earpiece so he could use his phone without looking suspicious. When he got a call, he lowered the binoculars in his hand and answered with the push of a button. "Minsuk-ah, what is it?" he asked with a hint of frustration. He raised the binoculars again and found his target, watching him intently as he worked. Lee Taemin...oh, he was going to be Jinki's ticket to a better life, that much was certain. Jinki had been watching him for a while as he went from one end of the yard to the other, supervising the men working and occasionally doing some of the work himself despite his status as manager. He did his job like he did everything else--perfectly graceful, making each movement look effortless whether it was hammering a nail into place or slicing a man's throat. Well, admittedly Jinki had never seen the latter occurrence, but he had a very active imagination that was currently preoccupied with imagining Taemin in a room full of his enemies, disposing of them one by one in a deadly, chaotic dance.

He turned his attention to what Minsuk was saying, something about his boss showing up and he'd call back later. "You're the one who called...jeez.." he said with a sigh, rolling his eyes as his phone rang again. "What, did he leave?" he asked a bit impatiently.

"It's me," the smooth voice said over the phone. "Park Yoojin...from the construction yard the other night."

Jinki's eyes bugged as he quickly crouched down, hoping the other wasn't calling to let him know he'd been caught. He crept toward the steps, hoping he could avoid most of the workers since they seemed to be concentrating on the other side of the yard this shift. "Ah, yes, Park Yoojin-ssi...I'm glad to hear from you. Have you considered my offer?" he asked politely, climbing down the ladder and mentally kicking himself with every step as he hoped the other couldn't hear the noise in the background since it was coming from both ends of the line. "Yes, tomorrow would work...what time? I'll give you an address," he said and hopped to the ground, sighing as he hurried back toward his car.

* * *

A young man in a pair of jeans and a dark green jacket stared across the street to where a slightly older man was sitting in a fast food restaurant. 'Seriously...he had me meet him in a place like this?' he thought to himself, rolling his eyes. Southerners and their infinite luxuries. He crossed the street, pulling his ball cap low over his eyes so he wouldn't be recognized; when the man caught sight of him and began waving, he stiffened. 'Damn it.' He walked into the brightly-lit restaurant, settling in the chair across from the other man and staring at him blankly.

"I'm glad you came...would you like a hamburger or something?" the agent asked with a smile, having a tray with chicken wings and fries and a drink sitting in front of him already. The younger just shook his head. "I don't like fast food," he said simply.

"Well," the older continued as he shrugged slightly, "I'm glad you changed your mind; you made the right decision, I think...we all have to nurture our primary instincts, after all," he said with a smile.

"I haven't decided just yet," said Yoojin with a quiet sigh. The older glanced at him with a raised eyebrow before nodding. "Ah, I see...so you must need a lot of money then," he wondered aloud as he tried to count how much he could afford to pay the young man without going broke.

"Yeah..." he said softly; images of a young boy and a little baby girl flashed through his mind. "It's for a downpayment, on an apartment.." he murmured.

"Ah, an apartment? Wow...you're already a self-made man, and still so young," Jinki said with a grin. He sighed again as he thought about the numbers. "Let's see...I paid my last workers $2,000 total, but I can't give you so little, especially with your skill," he said as he ate another fry while he thought about it. "How about $3,000?" he asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry," said Yoojin as he shook his head. "I get that much at my current job." He stood from the table, staring out the window to avoid looking at the other.

"Wait! I'm not done...there are also some incentives," said Jinki as he squirmed slightly in his seat. He was going to be broke because of this kid, but at least eventually he could turn him in and get all that money back. "I'll give you a 10 percent incentive, along with a place to stay," he said with a slight sigh. Still, the thought of being penniless was worth it as he saw Yoojin sit back down slowly.

"When do I start?" the young man asked politely.

Jinki thought about it for a moment before sighing. "You start now."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee Jinki is a clumsy but well-meaning agent for the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS). Lee Taemin is a protegé of the Shadow, a seasoned and bloodthirsty North Korean assassin. When a job goes wrong for both men, their respective agencies and nations abandon them. Six years later, a union is formed as the two pretend not to know each other, hoping to use the other to achieve their own ends.

The two men stepped out of the jeep and glanced around at the buildings surrounding them. Finally, Jinki spoke. "Okay...you go in that direction, and I'll go in this direction. Call me if you find her, okay?" he said confidently, blinking when he was met with nothing but silence. "...Did you hear me? Yoojin-ssi?" he asked, turning around and glaring as he saw the other a good fifty yards away. "He didn't even listen to me," he sighed as he walked down the opposite street, scanning the shops he passed for the teenage girl they were looking for today. Her parents had been worried about her for almost two weeks, and he hoped they'd be able to locate her soon.

At the next intersection he glanced to his right, then his left, pausing as he thought he saw a familiar-looking face in a store window. He walked toward the shop and glanced down at the picture of the girl in his hand. 'It's definitely her,' he thought as he hurried into the shop, spotting the girl under a table. "Hey! Come on, just come with me...your parents have been worried sick, you know?" he said with a heavy sigh, as the girl had already started running away from him. 'Why is it always like this..?' he thought to himself as he ran out of the shop after her and met with Yoojin who must have heard the girl's shriek. They chased her down a back alley, but after a few moments Yoojin turned and ran down a side street. 'Where the hell is he going..?' Jinki thought as he turned and jogged after him, blinking in confusion as the other stopped in his tracks.

"Boss...why are you following me?" asked the younger, and Jinki honestly didn't know the answer.

"Uh...right," he said stupidly, turning and hurrying back after the girl. He dodged down another side street that looked like it might be a shortcut.

In the meantime, Yoojin had finally caught up with the girl and, instead of grabbing her or forcing her to stop, simply started talking. "You should stop this...you're only going to tire yourself out this way," he said with a concerned glance at the teenager. She looked to be almost an adult, really, but still she was too young to be wandering the world by herself. 'Then again,' he thought with a frown, 'there are others who have been forced to do that at a much younger age.' He thought of the little boy again, and the little baby girl, but shook his head to clear his thoughts. By the time he'd done so, though, he realized that the girl had tripped and fallen over something...well, someone. Well, Lee Jinki. The older man groaned as he lay there on the ground; the girl must have hit him while she was running full force for him to be hurting. Yoojin reached out his hand to help both of them up, but his boss didn't take it. He stood and grabbed the girl's arm, leading her back toward the jeep and huffing slightly, muttering things under his breath about disrespectful children and distracting...something. Yoojin lost his focus as he saw the elder pull out a pair of handcuffs and attach the girl to the handle above the door. As they were riding back toward the girl's home, Yoojin finally sighed and turned to his boss. "Are those really necessary?" he asked and nodded back toward the handcuffs.

"She could get away while we're stopped. If that happens, we won't find her again," Jinki said simply as if he wasn't riding around like some old weirdo with a teenage girl imprisoned in the back seat of his car.

At the next opportunity, Jinki pulled the jeep over and got out, beckoning Yoojin with his hand to follow him. The other did so reluctantly, glancing back at the girl before getting out and walking over to the side of the bridge they were parked on, where Jinki was standing. It took a few moments for the older man to speak, but finally he turned and fixed Yoojin with a gaze similar to the look a reluctantly patient teacher would give a rowdy pupil.

"Yoojin-ssi," he began with a sigh, raising his hand to block the sun's blinding rays so he could look at the other properly. The sun framing his silhouette made him look more intense than usual...almost divine. Jinki cleared his throat and continued. "It's our first day working together...must you really make it unpleasant by questioning my authority?" he asked in a way that was equal parts hope and condescension.

"That child has committed no crimes...we're not cops, and she's not a prisoner. Please treat her humanely," the younger said with a quiet determination in his tone. He wasn't going to participate in this business if this was how Jinki operated.

"Did I beat her, or swear at her? Absolutely not," said the other with a frown, his eyebrows coming together slightly as he got a little frustrated with the other's insistence that he wasn't being humane or whatever. "I have pride, too...I'm not torturing her; I'm just making sure that she doesn't get away."

Yoojin rolled his eyes at that; he couldn't help it. "Is putting her in cuffs any better?"

Several moments passed where both men refused to look away from the other, but finally with a heavy sigh Jinki pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and pulled off a tiny silver one, handing it over. "There," he said and turned toward the water, shaking his head slightly. "Yoojin-ssi...you cannot begin to understand what it is that we're doing in our line of work," he said solemnly as he stared out at the sun's reflection on the lake. "There is a da--" He was interrupted by the sound of a car door. "What the...you little brat, you should listen when an adult is talking," he grumbled as he walked back around to the driver's side and got in to find Yoojin unlocking the girl's cuffs. "You could have done that while we were moving!" he cried in frustration as he started the jeep again and drove off.

* * *

The lock beeped, and two young men walked into a dimly lit, small apartment.

"Here it is...it's not much, but it's livable," Jinki said as he motioned for Yoojin to make himself at home. "This is my office, but it's comfortable enough to stay; you can have the downstairs, and I'll take the upstairs," he said and walked over to the staircase, turning and fixing the other with a bit of an anxious gaze. "Um...please don't come up," he said awkwardly before ascending to the little balcony area so he could get ready for bed...if he could even hope to sleep with a killer living just twenty feet away from him.

Jinki peered through the railing to the downstairs office area where the young Park Yoojin was still getting settled. He glanced back at his ceiling so as not to be suspicious, then looked down again only to gasp audibly at the other staring back up at him. He rolled over on his futon and sighed. 'God, I can't believe I'm putting myself through this...and all for honor,' he thought with a carefully suppressed groan. Suddenly, he heard shifting from below and footsteps walking toward the stairs. He rose quickly and crept toward the staircase, descending silently and listening as the front door was opened swiftly, then closed again just a moment later. He could hear Yoojin making his way back toward his position, so he quickly went back upstairs and threw himself on his futon as quietly as possible, eyes wide and adrenalin flowing freely through his veins as he thought about what a close call he'd just had. Should he be keeping a gun or something by his bed? Oh, he no longer had a gun...right. Besides, it would just make that damn commie's job of killing him easier.

He peeked over the edge of his little balcony and stared down at the sofa where the other lay, wondering how he could look so damned innocent when Jinki knew very well that he'd killed many men and probably done worse. Besides, he was a Northerner; enough said. The ex-agent's eyes widened as he watched the other get up once more, grab his jacket, and walk toward the door. He slipped downstairs again and waited until he heard the door's lock beep before stepping into the hall. "Where the hell has he run off to so late..? Gone to meet the Shadow and tell him about me?" he wondered aloud, his mind working its hardest to drive him quickly into panic mode. "Oh God, what if he brings him back here tonight?" he said to himself, his eyes widening dramatically as he hurried to his closet and started pulling out anything that looked like it could bludgeon someone to death. All he came out with was a random golf club and a back scratcher thing; he began swinging the club around like a madman, striking the back of his sofa and sighing heavily when the cheap device nearly bent in half. "That's not going to do the job..." he huffed. Ah, what about hand-to-hand combat? He was really good with that sort of thing, and if he could just get the Shadow's gun away he could probably beat the old bastard to a bloody pulp. Yeah, that could work...he started swinging his arms and kicking out at an imaginary adversary, crying out with each punch and shifting around so as to make himself a more difficult "target". He turned and stood still by the stairs, pausing before turning again as if at a sound from behind. "Oh, there you are...and you brought a guest?" he said calmly, before suddenly leaping forward in "attack". He grabbed the handcuffs from the counter and slipped one on his wrist, trying to figure out what he'd do with the incapacitated killers once he'd dealt with them. "Maybe...ah, here, the pipe," he said and hooked the other cuff around a thin pipe that jutted out from the wall beside his kitchen...probably for hot water or something like that. He fastened the cuff with a satisfying 'click', then pulled a bit to make sure it would hold. Sure enough, the pipe didn't budge. 'Now just to get out of these and wait for them to walk in the door,' he thought as he stuck his free hand in his pocket for the key...where was it again?

"Oh no...that damn kid," he groaned, hitting his head against the wall. He'd given the key to Yoojin, so he could pretend to be all "humane" and stuff. Stupid Northerner...Jinki stepped carefully around the kitchen counter and looked around for something he could use to get himself out of this.

After half an hour of failed attempts at escape, he sank to the floor by his front door, breathing heavily from exertion and feeling utterly beaten by a simple set of handcuffs.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Yoojin paid the attendant and walked back to one of the many computers filling the small, dark room of the computer station. He opened the e-mail application and hit "compose", typing in his contact's username and then his own, with "New Information" as his subject. He began filling in what he knew of Lee Jinki, including the fact that he'd infiltrated the NIS agent's defenses as his employee and was searching diligently for the traitor Taesoon's whereabouts. He finished the e-mail and sat back in his seat, closing his eyes and dozing as he waited for a reply. He'd wait all night if he had to.

* * *

The next morning saw a disappointed Yoojin opening the door to the apartment and walking into a scene of utter chaos; items such as a broken umbrella, a bent golf club, a back scratcher, and a kitchen knife lay strewn across the floor, and in the middle of them sat a rather flustered-looking Lee Jinki. It was almost amusing how the other got up so fast when he walked in, like he was expecting something terrible to happen with his arrival. "Where were you all night?" he was asked like some rebellious teen, but he wasn't in the mood to put up with questioning at the moment. He walked past the other and went to grab his bag, figuring they had a whole day of work ahead of them, when he was stopped by the other's voice.

"Um...Yoojin-ssi, I was just testing these and I realized you still have...um, could you give me the key?" Jinki stammered and stared at the other's back hoping he wasn't about to be killed for his own stupidity in some terrible karma-is-a-bitch scenario. His eyes widened as the other turned and began to walk toward him, and he backed up a bit. "N-No, just throw it!" he called, but by then Yoojin was already by his side, somehow towering over his tired form as he gently took his wrist and unlocked the cuff binding it, letting it go slowly and stepping back just a bit to stare down at him. Jinki released the breath he hadn't known he was holding, swallowing hard and trying not to look at the other's eyes. It was Yoojin who broke the silence.

"So, what are we doing today?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee Jinki is a clumsy but well-meaning agent for the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS). Lee Taemin is a protegé of the Shadow, a seasoned and bloodthirsty North Korean assassin. When a job goes wrong for both men, their respective agencies and nations abandon them. Six years later, a union is formed as the two pretend not to know each other, hoping to use the other to achieve their own ends.

The jeep swerved in its lane, its driver blinking slowly as he tried to stay awake enough to drive.

"You seem tired...do you need me to drive?" came the casual remark from the passenger seat, and Jinki found himself turning and giving a sleepy glare to one Park Yoojin, the current bane of his existence.

"Only I drive this car," he said obstinately, turning back to the road just in time to see an enormous garbage truck hurtling down the lane directly toward them. He gasped and jerked the wheel to the right, swerving back into their lane and sighing heavily once the danger had passed. "Well, that was close..." he remarked with the apathy a sleep-deprived individual feels for the world around them. He reached behind the passenger seat and withdrew a yellow folder, which he handed over to Yoojin for reading. "Today we need to find this girl, the daughter of a local farmer...she's been missing for about three weeks, so they're pretty desperate to have her back." He glanced at his phone as it started vibrating in his lap, but chose to ignore it for the moment. He was too busy trying to concentrate on the road.

Jinki parked the jeep in front of a general store and got out, spreading a map of the area on the hood and leaning over it, inspecting. "So, this is how we'll go: I'll take this quarter, and you take this one, then you take this one and I'll take this one over here..." he said half to himself and half to Yoojin, who of course wasn't paying a bit of attention. The young man turned around and walked over, pointing at the map. "How about this...we walk in opposite directions from here, along this street. If we don't find her, we flip 15 degrees and try again. We're bound to catch her that way," he said confidently. Jinki just stared up at him unamused. "That's a really old trick...where'd you learn it?" he asked with mock curiosity.

"Internet," Yoojin replied as he walked away with his hands in his pockets down the dust-covered road. Jinki just rolled his eyes and folded up his map, practically stomping off in his own direction.

Ten minutes later, Jinki was inside a small laundromat surrounded by elderly women who were gambling in what they considered a very serious game of cards. "...and she's been gone for almost three weeks, and that's why I need to find my precious daughter," he said pitifully, glancing around at the old women who'd become enraptured with his elaborate story about his "baby girl". "Can you help me..?" he asked hopefully, staring at them with a woeful expression as he clutched the "only picture he had left" of her.

"Haven't seen her," snapped a particularly old and mean-looking granny, her beady eyes focusing immediately on her opponents as she gestured for the next woman to hurry up and take her turn. Jinki sighed and glanced about, wondering what he could do now. He looked at the woman who'd been so caught up in his story and gestured to the most ornery of the bunch. "This hag's hand is crap...you could call and she'd be finished," he said as he stood up amidst victorious cries from the lady he'd helped and curses from the woman he was pretty sure was a demon in disguise. "No mercy in gambling," he said simply and walked out before he could get hit with something.

"Honestly, Minsuk-ssi...I don't know what I'm going to do. He hasn't exposed himself at all, though he did stay out all last night and I was worried; still, I'm going to have to get something on him soon, or his salary will bankrupt me." Jinki took a bite of a dumpling as he sat on the steps of the general store, ignoring the laughter from the other end of the line. "Seriously...he says he's trying to buy an apartment, when even his boss is renting these days, and he acts all humane and noble and stuff and tries to make me look like the bad guy...it's almost like he's the boss around here," he said with a heavy sigh before quickly hanging up when he saw Yoojin walking by. "Have you found anything?" he called out, smiling until the youth disappeared down the next street. "Damn commie," he muttered as he went back to his lunch.

"How did you get her to come with you?" he asked as they drove down a country road toward the farming district.

"I convinced her that it was her best option," Yoojin replied. "Humanely," he added with a glance toward his boss.

"Humanely, right...but what I want to know is, how did you find her so fast?" Jinki asked curiously. Surely the boy had to be using some top-secret technology to find someone that quickly. He at least could prove himself to be a spy depending on how he answered...then he'd have him for sure.

"Why...is it a problem?"

Well, there went that plan.

"No, not at all...it's not a problem at all," said Jinki with mock enthusiasm as they pulled into the farm's gates.

* * *

"I really don't know how to thank you...it's so wonderful to have our daughter back, and it's all because of you," said the old farmer as he stared up at Jinki with eyes full of gratitude.

"It was no trouble really, I'm just glad she's home safe...now, it's usually 2000$ for locating, and another 1500$ for returning," he said with a smile. Unfortunately, Yoojin had just walked up beside him. "Don't worry about the money. She wanted to come home, so it's not a problem," he said with a small bow to the farmer. Jinki felt his eye twitch...no money for all their hard work? Seriously? What was this kid playing at?

"No, I have to repay you somehow...humanely," said the farmer, smiling up at them.

"Of course," Jinki agreed with a solemn nod before half-glaring at his 'employee'. "Humanely."

* * *

"Humanely, my ass..." he muttered as they drove home in the growing dusk, the jeep laden with vegetables and fruit of all kinds. He scowled as he drove onward, thinking of the many methods he could use to strangle Yoojin for suggesting that they not take money for their work. Suddenly, though, his murderous thought process was interrupted by the flapping of wings. _'Wait...wings?'_ he thought as he turned and immediately wished he hadn't.

There was a chicken. In his car. Flapping around and trying to attack and kill him.

Chaos broke loose as the two men tried to ward the bird off with their arms, keeping it from getting to their heads while Jinki tried his best not to run off the road. "Get it! Get the bird!" he cried desperately, feeling wings and feet and what felt like a beak pelting him with all their might. Finally, Yoojin managed to get the thing wrestled into his arms, and sat there holding it like a little kid would hold a teddy bear or something. Jinki glanced over at him and laughed at his shellshocked expression, reaching over and picking a feather out of his hair as he smiled at him, and eventually saw Yoojin smile back.

* * *

Jinki got up from his much-needed afternoon nap and headed downstairs, shuffling into the bathroom and closing the door behind him. Just as he was really waking up, he glanced up and his eyes widened considerably at the sight in front of him. There was a dead thing hanging in his shower.

"What the hell?!" he screamed as he stumbled backward out of the bathroom, trying to zip his jeans and falling backward as he glanced up at the completely unphased Yoojin. The boy walked into the bathroom and retrieved the skinned and beheaded chicken, walking with the dead bird out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. "It's just food," he said calmly. Jinki stared up at him in horror that was mostly genuine. _'He really is a murderer...he was holding that thing like a baby in the car and now he's killed it and wants to eat it?!'_ he thought as he shuddered. "Yeah well you can have it...I don't want any part in that," he huffed and walked back into his bathroom to get ready.

* * *

"Wow...this is really good," he said as he heartily ate the food that Yoojin had prepared for them. "Incredible, really...it's been years since anyone's cooked for me," he said with a smile up at the young man, a small piece of the chicken leg he'd just demolished hanging out of the corner of his mouth as he spoke. Yoojin just shook his head, wondering what sort of life this guy had been leading before him, to not even be able to cook for himself...he picked up the remaining chicken leg from his own bowl of broth and transferred it to his boss's bowl, sighing softly as he did so. He didn't need the extra food anyway, and it was entertaining to watch Jinki enjoy it so much.

"What happened to your wife and child?" he asked softly as he sipped the soup and glanced up at his boss with a careful gaze.

"Ah...well, I was never much of a husband to her. We married because we'd been great friends in school, and then we had our son Jonghyun--Jjongie--and then when he was around three years old...well...we discovered that we weren't really compatible, and never really had been in the first place. She left, married some fancy athlete who lives in China--Choi Minho or something like that--and he renamed my son Jong Hun. Seriously? What a stupid name...sounds like an idiot is pronouncing it..." he grumbled and ate the chicken leg ferociously as if all his frustration could be taken out on the poor dead bird. "Yoojin-ssi," he muttered through a mouthful of food, "whenever you get a wife, make sure to treat her right. Find your soulmate before you do anything drastic..." he said and sighed heavily, focusing on his food once again.

"I won't be finding a wife, I'm afraid," Yoojin murmured and glanced off to the side...he wasn't sure he wanted to have this conversation with the handsome but dim-witted detective; anything could be used against him. "So, why don't you go visit your son?" he asked to repair his off-handed but potentially destructive comment.

"I just...well, Jjongie likes his new family so much, and Gwiboon doesn't want me to make his childhood any more complicated than it is...it's just difficult. I do love him, though; someday, when he gets married, I want to buy him a home to live in...show him how much I actually care." He glanced up at the younger man and raised an eyebrow slightly, marveling at the minor slip-up Yoojin had made and how easily he'd almost distracted him from it. "Yoojin-ssi...why will you not find a wife?" he asked with an honestly curious expression. "It's not like you're ugly or anything--you could probably get a really good-looking woman to fall head over heels for you, you know?"

"I'm not interested in that sort of thing." The young spy rolled his eyes slightly, wishing Jinki would let it drop already.

"What sort of thing? Relationships? Women? ...Are you gay or something?" he asked as he continued to dig in and enjoy the meal, being rather nonchalant despite the fairly serious and controversial topic.

"Precisely. Now leave me alone," Yoojin replied coldly, standing from the table and going to the sink to wash the dishes. Jinki just stared after him in a mix of wonder and confusion.

* * *

Jinki sat on the stairs and pulled on his socks, noticing that they smelled (and felt) clean for once; Yoojin must have done laundry or something.  _And I didn't know he was gay..._ he thought with a chuckle as he stood and walked toward the door, straightening his tie as he went.

"Where are you going?" came a call from behind him, and Jinki turned to see Yoojin standing there with a thoroughly unamused look on his face.

"Out...you have the day off, so you should go out somewhere too," he said with a smile. "Go do something...find a date, drink, eat good food or go to the park or something," he suggested; it was strange how often Yoojin stayed indoors, like he was afraid of the outside world. Well...it wasn't that strange, considering the situation, but Jinki figured he could throw him off this way.

"I think I'll just stay here and watch some TV," came the reply as Yoojin plopped down on the couch and turned on that same damn music program he was always watching.

"Suit yourself..." Jinki muttered and rolled his eyes. _Weird kid._ He turned and slipped on his shoes, walking out the door. Immediately after the lock sounded, Yoojin jumped up from the couch and hurriedly slipped his shoes and a hat on, leaving as quickly as he could so he could follow the older agent and find out what exactly he was up to on his excursion.

His trailing Jinki led him to many strange places...first to the Lotteria, where the man seemed to stare forlornly through the doors and wonder why the fast food chain wasn't open. _Oh right,_ Yoojin thought. _Today is the beginning of Chuseok, so of course they're closed._ After a failed attempt at getting his disgusting fast food fix, Yoojin followed Jinki to the river of all places. The man sat down on the bank, while Yoojin hid behind a stall on the other side of the street. He watched as Jinki pulled out his cellphone, slipping a wand-shaped device from his pocket and connecting it to an earpiece so he could be prepared to listen in on what the agent was saying. The man just looked at the phone for a minute, before hitting a button and putting it to his ear.

"Hello, Jjongie? This is appa. Yes, how are you?" Jinki asked warmly. Yoojin heard a child babbling something on the other end of the line and then Jinki spoke again. "Are you liking your new appa? More than me..? Ah, well you have to be nice you know...oh, he's giving you soccer lessons? How nice," the man said with what Yoojin could tell was a rather forced impression of happiness. "Your birthday...right, next month, I know. A digital camera? Why don't you ask your umma, huh? I'll send money and she can buy you one," he said softly and just nodded before hanging up. Yoojin sighed...this wasn't going according to plan; he didn't mean to intrude on a man's personal life, especially the depressing one of Lee Jinki. He felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out, glancing at the text he'd received.

> Yoojin-ssi...could you cook something nice for me? -Jinki

Yeah, he officially felt like an ass about this. He started to turn down his device so it would power off when suddenly he heard something that had him turning the dial back to full volume.

"Taesoon-ah, right, I'm over here..." he heard Jinki say and immediately scanned the area, watching as a ragged-looking Taesoon made his way to where the NIS agent now stood in a shaded area. He turned his device toward the two in hopes of picking up some of their conversation.

"Thanks so much, for everything..." Taesoon said and bowed to Jinki, receiving a thick white envelope from him.

"No problem. We all have to get by," said the older man and nodded slightly, patting Taesoon's shoulder before turning to walk away.

Now was his chance...it was time to make this right.

* * *

Kim Taesoon unlocked the door to his apartment and slipped inside, holding several large bags of groceries as he made his way toward the kitchen. Once he'd set them all down, he returned to close and lock his front door, sighing and taking the now considerably-thinner envelope from his pocket and lay it down on the table beside the door. He turned and flicked on a light to brighten the pitch-black room, and immediately jumped as he saw a figure standing in the shadows across the room.

Yoojin ran at the surprised Taesoon, tackling him and trying to get him down on the floor. The two men wrestled through the room, knocking over furniture and destroying odds and ends as each struggled for power. Finally, Yoojin prevailed and successfully pinned Taesoon to the floor with his knees on the man's stomach, his fist coming down hard on the traitor's face again and again. "You're the reason I can't go back, you son of a bitch!" he shouted as he continued to beat his old friend mercilessly, rage fueling each punch he delivered. "It's your fault that I'm labeled a traitor! You lying, deceiving bastard! You...why?! Why?!?" he sobbed and grabbed Taesoon's throat, squeezing hard and cutting off the flow of oxygen. Finally, the true traitor would pay. He would have his revenge as soon as Taesoon went lifeless and limp by his hand.

"I-I want...to live...." Taesoon managed to choke out, clawing at Yoojin's hands desperately. "I want t-to live..." he repeated weakly.

Yoojin pulled his hands from the man's throat reluctantly, standing slowly and continuing to sob relentlessly.

An hour and a long conversation later, the two men sat against one of the lesser-damaged walls and passed a cup of soju between them. Taesoon had several bad cuts and developing bruises on his face and throat, and had tissue keeping his nose from bleeding too badly. "So how did you find me..?" he asked softly, passing the cup of soju to his ex-colleague and coughing slightly as he continued to recover.

"I followed you after you met with an NIS agent today," Yoojin explained simply, taking a small sip of the burning liquid and passing it back.

"I didn't meet with an agent...I got out of that a long time ago," Taesoon replied, shrugging slightly before a knowing look appeared on his face. "Lee Jinki isn't an agent any more either," he explained.

"What? What are you talking about?" came a frustrated question from Yoojin. _This had better be Taesoon's idea of an inappropriate joke..._

"He took the blame for the incident...they fired him and he's been doing solo work ever since," he said softly and shrugged again.

 _Damn..._ Yoojin thought as he hung his head slightly. _I've been doing this all for nothing. The guy's a fraud, he's nothing like he used to be...stupid son of a bitch._


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee Jinki is a clumsy but well-meaning agent for the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS). Lee Taemin is a protegé of the Shadow, a seasoned and bloodthirsty North Korean assassin. When a job goes wrong for both men, their respective agencies and nations abandon them. Six years later, a union is formed as the two pretend not to know each other, hoping to use the other to achieve their own ends.

"Wow...you look nice. Where are you going looking like that?"

Jinki had come downstairs to find Yoojin looking at himself in the mirror, fixing his tie and hair. The younger man was wearing a black suit, much like the one he'd been wearing the day Jinki had first seen him, and looked almost like he was headed out on a date or something.

"It's a school reunion...I'll be home late, so don't wait up," Yoojin said and picked up his bag, heading for the door.

Jinki stared after him with a smile as he left, but as soon as the man had disappeared he pulled on his shoes and jacket, taking out his cellphone and hurriedly dialing Minsuk's number. Two rings, and he connected.

"Minsuk-ssi, be ready to meet me somewhere in the city...he's on the move," he said as he grabbed his keys and rushed out of his apartment to follow Yoojin on foot. "He says he's going to a school reunion."

"So..?" came the reply, and Jinki felt like throwing the phone...honestly, his former employee was so dense.

"You idiot, he's from the North...what the hell does a Northerner have to do with a Southern reunion huh? Exactly, now get ready and I'll send you details when I have them." He ducked behind a parked car as Yoojin crossed the street, looking through the car's window at his target who was looking around a bit suspiciously. _What if he's going on a date and doesn't want me to know?_ he thought with a frown; why was that thought so disappointing? Oh, who cared; it wasn't true anyway. Yoojin was probably on his way to do something killer-like, and Jinki was going to catch him in the act. _Hm...that's it, he's going down_ , he thought with a smug sort of expression. He slipped out from behind the car--ignoring the stares from the elderly couple who went to get inside--and continued across the street, keeping a safe distance between himself and Yoojin.

Several minutes later, Jinki watched Yoojin stop abruptly on a street corner and wait there patiently; he ducked behind a tree, watching carefully as a black sedan pulled up and the boy got inside. Sitting beside him was an elderly man, though Jinki couldn't be sure of his identity. _Shadow..?_  
  
He hailed a cab and got in, giving the orders to follow the sedan as inconspicuously as possible before searching through his satchel and producing a camera. He leaned around the passenger's seat, pointing the device at the sedan and taking several clear pictures of its license plate and the occupants of the car. When it stopped several minutes later in front of a hotel, he ducked down and hissed at the cab driver for stopping too. Setting the camera just above the edge of his car window, Jinki snapped several pictures of the men who exited the car with Yoojin--none of them were the Shadow, but he was sure Minsuk could figure out their identity with a little bit of searching. He pulled out a netbook and connected it to the camera, uploading the pictures and sending them to Minsuk's private e-mail address. Dialing his cellphone again, he motioned for the cab driver to circle around as he spoke to his old friend.

"Minsuk-ssi...I've sent you pictures and I want the men in them identified, and I need you to meet me in the next ten minutes. Bring your car...we have to move fast on this one," he said tersely and hung up, watching out the window as they circled the hotel.

An hour or so later, Jinki and Minsuk were headed down the highway as Jinki looked through the papers on the three men Minsuk had identified. "A producer, professor, and pastor...hm," he said and glanced at each of the images, memorizing the faces. "A commie producer...no wonder that industry's shot to hell," he muttered and picked up his cellphone, dialing a contact number from the man's info sheet.

"Hello...I'd like to speak to producer Kang. Yes, I have some big news, very big news, and I need to speak to him immediately," he said with an air of agitation in his voice. "He's gone to China? When? ...Fine, whatever. Oh, the news? It's up your ass," he said quickly and hung up with a heavy sigh.

"Both producer Kang and professor Kim have gone to China...only pastor Lee remains in the country," said Minsuk simply.

"...You couldn't have told me that sooner?" Jinki asked with frustration, receiving nothing more than a shrug from his friend.

"Fine, whatever...let's go to the church and see if we can pay this 'pastor' a visit," he instructed, pointing to the address on Mr. Lee's sheet and sitting back to look out the window. They were so close...so why was he thinking about that kid instead of the job ahead?

* * *

The two former colleagues arrived at the small white church by evening, having done their homework on the man in question and giving the pastor enough time to return from his "meeting". As they walked through the doors, Jinki crossed himself and nodded to the church's secretary, walking down a short hallway to a door marked with a cross and the nameplate of pastor Lee. He knocked, opening the door quickly and stepping inside with Minsuk close behind him.

"Can I help you?" asked the pastor nervously, but Jinki wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. He had to figure out how this phony minister was tied to Shadow, then use that to figure out how to put Yoojin/Taemin away for life. Ignoring the sudden knot in his stomach at that thought, he reached out and grabbed the old man up from his chair, hauling him around the small desk and pushing him to the floor; holding his arm behind his back, he grabbed his hair and pulled his head up, thrusting a picture of Yoojin at him and holding it in front of his face.

"Park Yoojin, do you recognize him?" he asked roughly. When the pastor just shook his head, Jinki lifted and pushed him down again, harder this time. "How about Lee Taemin? Hm?!" he asked, shaking the old man and demanding his answer.

The bespectacled old pastor blinked a few times and looked hard at the picture. "Y-You mean, Park Jiyong? H-He's a client..." he said nervously. "Is he in trouble?"

* * *

The three men sat around a round table in the pastor's office, the eldest of the three gently rubbing his sore arm. Minsuk looked at Jinki and nodded toward him, and the man sighed heavily before leaning forward to speak.

"We're--I'm sorry about the misundestanding, pastor...but could you please tell us about this Jiyong guy? You said he was a client...but, for what?" he asked curiously, wondering if Yoojin was trying to become part of the church or something. Maybe a killer like him needed confessions once in awhile.

"You say you've been following him, but you don't know?" the pastor asked incredulously, shrugging before launching into his tale. "Mr. Kang, Mr. Kim, and I run a rather successful operation bringing northern refugees over the border and giving them new identities and new lives over here. Jiyong first came to me last year, wanting to move his family; unfortunately, he didn't realize how expensive it was, and we hadn't heard from him again until a few months ago when he said he could get the money..."

"The 'apartment'," said Jinki softly as the pieces started to come together before his eyes.

"...After his payment, we began the process of moving them, but just yesterday something went bad. The new nuclear missile testing in the north has tightened security, and we're having trouble completing their move. Professor Kim and Producer Kang went to China today to salvage what they could of this mission, and Jiyong showed up to get information...I assured him we would do our best to bring his family safely over, and we will."

Jinki sighed heavily; so Yoojin was going to defect, and bring his family over here. He wondered if the boy had parents and siblings, maybe even a lover? He bit his lip and stared at the floor...all this time he'd been trying to get Yoojin like any other bad guy. But what if he wasn't like that any more? What if he could make a new life here..? They could keep their business going and even continue their living arrangements...well, not if Yoojin decided to live with his family of course. He stood from his seat and said goodbye to the minister, motioning for Minsuk to follow him.

Rain poured from the sky as Minsuk pulled up to Jinki's building, the older of the two sitting there for a moment as if reluctant to open his door and go inside.

"So, should we contact the agency now?" Minsuk asked softly, knowing Jinki was emotionally torn about the kid and hoping his old boss would give the go ahead for the NIS to capture him and take him into custody.

"No...give him a few days. He'll probably turn himself in, right?" he said softly, sighing and looking out the window at his apartment before stepping out of the car into the pouring rain.

* * *

It was the last night of Chuseok, and Jinki and Yoojin were sitting on the couch watching the same music program as always, soju in hand and an empty bowl of what used to be chicken wings on the table in front of them. After a few minutes of silence, Jinki turned and stared at his employee and unofficial roommate, blinking slowly.

"Yoojin-ssi..." he began in a quiet voice. "How long have we been working together, hm?"

The younger of the two just shrugged slightly, staring at the television instead of making eye contact. "Around three months. Why?" he asked.

Jinki just smiled. "Really? That long, huh?" he mused, the same silly smile holding on to his features and brightening them considerably. "Hey...you should call me 'hyung'."

That earned him a look that could very well kill. "No way," Yoojin replied tersely.

"Oh, c'mon, I know you wanna~" he coaxed, grinning at him drunkenly and moving closer with his hands raised as if ready to pounce. Yoojin just glared at him, backing up a bit so he was against the arm of the sofa and holding his glass of soju up between them like it was supposed to guard him against Jinki's advance. The elder of the two just chuckled, grabbing the glass and drinking its contents before setting it aside and staring at Yoojin with a childish-looking pout.

"Pleeeease...please call me hyung? Just once, and I won't ask again, promise!" he begged, blinking his eyes and trying to make them bigger like a puppy's, or like Yoojin's; the boy did have pretty eyes, he noticed. Well, he'd noticed for a long time now really. His eyes, lips, skin, hair…his smile, however rare. He'd been thinking quite a lot about his enemy-turned-friend...even if he wouldn't usually admit it. Shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts, he could see that Yoojin was clearly unimpressed with his puppy imitation and wasn't budging on the issue. _Hmph, fine..._ he thought to himself, resting one hand on the back of the couch and the other on the arm behind Yoojin. _But you'll regret it..._

He leaned in and pressed his lips against the slightly colder ones of the younger man, sighing softly into the kiss as he thought Yoojin tasted comfortable, like chicken and soju and like home. Home...hehe, how could someone taste like home? He chuckled at his own silly thoughts, pulling back slightly to see the shocked expression on Yoojin's face.

"Ha...I've got you," he said smugly, smirking like the Cheshire cat and leaning in to kiss him again...just to prove his point, of course.

Oh, bullshit. He enjoyed it and he knew it.

Jinki moved a little closer, shifting his weight so he was sitting on Yoojin's legs and his arms weren't as strained; he moved the hand from the back of the couch up to tangle in the other male's hair, tugging him gently closer and sighing again into the kiss he was so unwilling to break. It wasn't until he felt those slowly warming lips start to press back against his that he smiled against them and opened his eyes to meet Yoojin's.

"Or I might have you," the kid said confidently as he pulled back and smirked up at him, and Jinki didn't want to think about how that expression made every ounce of heat in his body flood southward. He didn't want to think about how intoxicating the atmosphere was getting, and how easy it would be to just let go and enjoy tonight for what it probably was, a drunken mistake. He leaned down and crushed their lips together again, moaning softly despite himself as Yoojin surprised him by shifting his hips beneath him. That was it: this was going to happen, he'd known it for awhile, and he sure as hell wasn't going to stop it when he had the only guy he'd wanted for some time writhing around beneath him.

He sat up and slid backward, maneuvering himself so he was kneeling between the other male's legs and leaning over him. He grabbed Yoojin under his knees and tugged him closer, making him lie down on the couch and bringing his hips up closer to his own. As he leaned down into another heated kiss, groaning as he felt teeth gently tug at his lower lip and moved to reciprocate. This felt odd...but not in a bad way; it felt weird because it felt too natural, like he couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else. It certainly hadn't felt like this with Gwiboon...he still remembered the embarrassing difficulty he'd had pleasing his wife without any outside help: suffice it to say that conceiving Jonghyun was almost a miracle. But this...this was so different. He _wanted_ this, could feel the need for it crashing through his veins like waves on the shore, and felt a sense of urgency like if he didn't make it happen now it might never happen again. And he definitely didn't want that.

He pulled back just a bit from their kiss, allowing his forehead to press against Yoojin's and staring down at him with half-lidded eyes as he tried to catch his breath. He slid his hands from the silky brown hair down a slender torso and rested them on the other male's slightly bony hips, his thumbs rubbing gentle circles into the small patch of skin visible where Yoojin's shirt had ridden up just slightly. Slipping his fingers into the waist of his jeans, Jinki could feel his face heating up even though he hadn't done anything just yet. He slid the button open and tugged at the offending material, sliding it down Yoojin's thighs and sitting up so he could lift each of the younger man's legs to remove the tight-fitting material completely. He stared down at the boy beneath him, blinking in awe at how unusually beautiful he really was. Jinki leaned down and pressed gentle kisses along the younger's jaw and neck, slowly and almost reverently working along each piece of exposed skin before choosing a spot to focus and try to make a mark. He rolled his hips downward, smirking against reddened skin as he heard the reaction loud and clear; obviously he wasn't the only one feeling something, and that was very good news indeed.

Jinki sat up again and slowly lifted one of Yoojin's legs, draping it over the back of the couch and raising an eyebrow curiously as the task seemed much easier than he'd thought it would be. "Flexible..." he murmured, leaning down to kiss him again as he dug around in the pocket of his own jeans. After pulling out a few movie tickets and receipts, he finally found what he was looking for: a small bottle, blue in color, which he uncapped and began spreading across a few of his fingers. At the incredulous look he was getting from Yoojin, he shrugged slightly and tried to look as innocent as possible. "Hey...I like to be prepared," he mumbled and grinned cheesily before leaning in to kiss him to distraction for what he was going to do next.

After what seemed like hours to every part of him below his waist, Jinki was positioning himself and slowly pushing forward into the body beneath him. He smiled at the whimper he received, for which he was smacked on the side of the head.

"It's not funny, you ass. Now hurry up and move so I can forget about regretting this," said Yoojin sharply, but Jinki saw past the surly attitude to the needy side beneath and just leaned down to kiss his forehead gently.

"As you wish," he said softly and pushed into him swiftly, groaning out his approval of how incredible it felt as he tried not to move for just a second; he wanted to give Yoojin time to adjust, and needed to give himself time to calm down so this wasn't a thirty-second ordeal. After a couple minutes of trying to slow his breathing a bit, he carefully pulled back and pushed back inside, trying to angle his thrust a different way each time so he could see which way felt best for Yoojin; he got his answer when the usually stoic assassin let out a desperate keen, his back arching and hands moving to hold onto his back quite firmly...he'd have marks tomorrow morning for sure.

Keeping his angle exactly the same, Jinki picked up the pace of his thrusts and found himself losing every ounce of sanity he'd ever possessed--which wasn't much, to be fair--as he listened to the beautiful array of sounds he was getting from Yoojin. The boy was beautiful on any regular day, but this...this was an ethereal form of beauty he'd never before had the privilege to witness. How odd that he would find it in someone he'd been so sure he hated...but that was just nature's sense of irony coming into play he guessed.

He felt his mind growing cloudy with lust as he drew nearer to the edge, staring down at Yoojin who also seemed quite close to his own breaking point. As he felt his climax coming on he leaned down and kissed Yoojin a bit roughly, groaning and thrusting at a more erratic pace until with a moan he felt himself tumble over the edge into oblivion. Yoojin wasn't far behind, it seemed, since he felt the young man arch against him and cry out, and then something warm spread in the area between their stomachs. He collapsed atop the other male, groaning with a mixture of satisfaction and exhaustion as he ran his fingers through Yoojin's hair softly.

"Hey..." he said a few minutes later, breaking the silence as he murmured against the younger's neck. "Now you could call me 'yeobo', hm?"

At that suggestion, he received a half-hearted but still painful punch in the side, which shut him up for the rest of the night. The two fell asleep entangled together like vines, their breathing soft and steady.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee Jinki is a clumsy but well-meaning agent for the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS). Lee Taemin is a protegé of the Shadow, a seasoned and bloodthirsty North Korean assassin. When a job goes wrong for both men, their respective agencies and nations abandon them. Six years later, a union is formed as the two pretend not to know each other, hoping to use the other to achieve their own ends.

Yoojin woke the next morning with a mild headache and a sharp pain resounding through his lower back. After a few moments of confusion as to what happened, the night before and all its mistakes came flooding back.

"Oh, shit..." he groaned and jumped when he heard the door close and the lock set itself. He threw the blanket off--somehow he'd been cleaned, re-dressed, and covered whilst asleep--and sat up, groaning when he felt the pain in his back more intensely with each movement.

"Stop, don't move like that just yet...here, use this," said Jinki as he brought over a heated pack of rice for him to place on his back. Sighing and sitting back with the warmth slowly removing his pain, Yoojin glanced off to the side and blinked when he saw an altar set up with all the necessary items for a memorial ceremony.

"I'm glad the convenience store was open today, because I couldn't have made any of this stuff," Jinki said softly and sighed. "I woke up this morning and remembered you telling me about your parents once...I thought we should remember them properly."

Yoojin just stared, blinking in surprise at the elaborate set-up Jinki had created just for him. Now those dreams of sweet, whispered words seemed almost genuine to him, after seeing just how much he obviously cared. It made his heart start to beat faster, the delicate organ feeling for the first time that someone truly cared who really didn't have a reason to do so. No end game. No secret ulterior motive.

He stood slowly and nodded to what Jinki was wearing: a nice, somewhat neatly pressed suit--he'd probably tried to do it himself, which just made Yoojin's heart flutter again at the dedication. "I'll change, then I'll be ready," he said softly, his thanks unspoken but clearly there, hanging between them in the air like all the other things he wished he could say to the man.

"Take your time," was Jinki's reply as he moved to fold the blankets from the couch and continue to clean up for the memorial service.

Jinki stood back a bit from the altar while Yoojin made the final preparations...but when it came time to write his parents' names on the delicate white shrine paper, he couldn't do it. He'd never learned how to write Chinese characters...they weren't important where he was from. After a moment of fumbling and wondering what he should do, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Here...let me do it," Jinki murmured softly and knelt beside him, taking the brush and paper and asking him his mother's name, then his father's; he copied both down beautifully, adding an epitaph after each that Yoojin could only assume was also beautiful and fitting for the occasion. After the older male stood up and stepped back again, he continued with the ceremony; he lit incense, prayed, and asked his parents to watch over him in the coming year as they had in the past. He felt peaceful...so what happened next was a bit of a shock to say the least.

"You know," Jinki began, interrupting the solemnity of the moment with a soft tone of voice, "I've heard they have started holding these ceremonies in the North."

He tensed, his eyes widening and his heart clenching in his chest. He knew.

Jinki jumped back as Yoojin sprang to his feet, turning and producing a knife he'd had concealed in his jacket somehow. "You knew!" he cried as he slashed at the older man, slicing his left arm below the shoulder. "You knew, and you didn't say anything? What sort of sick game were you playing, huh? We even...and you didn't, not once did you let on..."

Jinki sighed. "Yoojin--no, Taemin...Taemin, I'm sorry. At first things were different, I was--"

"You were going to turn me in...get your name and your job back. You bastard. You filthy, lying son of a bitch. Fine," he said, spreading his arms wide. "You were going to sell me out anyway, so it might as well be now."

Jinki bit his lip and shook his head, pressing his right hand to his opposite arm to stop the bleeding that was already starting. "I wouldn't try to capture you during a memorial service," he said softly and stepped a little closer despite the inherent dangers of being so close to Taemin right now. "I...found out, about your family and what you're trying to do. After that...I just couldn't do anything to you. I figured, no one has to know...we could keep this up, continue our business..." he muttered shyly, his suggestion more than what it seemed as he was talking about essentially harboring a fugitive and remaining an outcast for the rest of his days just to stay with Taemin; it was a price he recently realized he'd gladly pay.

"Go on...I'll bow for your parents, too," he said softly and stepped forward, kneeling to the floor just behind and to the right of Taemin and bowing before the little shrine. As Taemin bowed as well, he looked up toward the sky and allowed the tears to flow freely down his cheeks; he'd finally found someone who cared about him enough to keep him safe at any cost, someone who wanted him as he was, knowing what he was and accepting it completely. That feeling was enough to make him sob silently while he bowed again and again before his parents' memorial. For the first time in a long, long time...he felt like he was home.

* * *

Jinki picked up the buzzing cell phone from the counter, hissing slightly as Taemin finished wrapping his arm and sliding his shirt sleeve back down before he took the call.

"Yeah, Minsuk-ssi...oh. I'll be right there," he said quickly and hung up, standing and slipping on his jacket while dodging the suspicious glances from Taemin. "Please...please stay here for now, we'll work this all out when I get back," he murmured and leaned in to kiss his cheek gently; he was still blushing as he walked out the door. Taemin, on the other hand, seemed unphased: he wanted, no needed to know what Jinki was up to, and why he was keeping secrets from him. He waited a few seconds after he'd gone before following him out the door.

* * *

Taemin stood in the corridor of the NIS headquarters--a place he never thought he'd go willingly--and pulled the brim of his hat lower over his face. He crept along the wall and made it across the hall to where he could see an open door and several men in suits standing within a room as if they were surrounding something. Jinki was one of them, he could tell, and he crouched low to see what they were looking at so intently. His eyes widened when he saw it; a body. Taesoon.

He stumbled over to the wall beside the door and sat against it, sinking down and blinking slowly. Taesoon was dead...he'd been murdered, and from the panicked state of the NIS it didn't seem like it was a planned ordeal.

Shadow was back.

He gasped for air, leaning his head back against the wall and biting his lip to keep from crying out; unfortunately he didn't need to, because at that moment a junior officer of the NIS passed and looked under his cap with just enough curiosity to see who he was.

"It's Lee Taemin!" he cried, backing up against the wall and pointing an accusing finger at him like he was some sort of freak. Prick.

Taemin sprung to his feet and grabbed the guy by the throat, squeezing as hard as he could to keep him from shouting any more. More agents were already on their way, and as they reached him he released the first man who sank to the floor in favor of throwing as many punches and kicks at his new assailants as possible. Still, he was surrounded, and then he heard footsteps coming up behind him. It was Jinki...he and the other men who were with Taesoon had run out at the commotion, and now Jinki was staring at him like a wounded puppy.

The man beside him stepped forward, holding up his hands in a gesture of peace. "Taemin-ssi, it's okay; just don't do anything hasty, we can talk about this. Jinki told us everything--it's fine," he said, but Taemin was already backing up toward the agents behind him.

"What do you think I am?" he asked, his eyes black as pitch and burning holes in Jinki rather than the man who spoke. "A traitor?"

He turned on his heels and punched the nearest agent, jumping over his crumpled form and running like a bat out of hell until he made it to the corner, at which he turned and just kept on running.

Jinki followed the horde of agents who were after Taemin, trying to grab at Minsuk's sleeve. "Stop! Stop! Just let him go, please...just give him time," he pleaded, holding back tears as he stared at his former coworker.

"Boss..." said the younger man, sighing and looking at him like he was crazy for a moment, until everything seemed to click. "You're putting me in a really difficult position..."

Jinki just nodded, holding up two fingers. "Just give me two hours, I'll try to fix this," he said and turned to run off...until he was met with a shorter, bespectacled man who looked at him like a very unwelcome guest.

"Lee Jinki...what the hell are you doing here?" asked his former boss, glancing around at the chaos and all the fallen agents getting up slowly from their respective wounds. He could be gone five minutes, and if Lee Jinki entered the building, all hell was bound to break loose.

* * *

> Jinki sat at a bar, glancing around and taking a bite of his chicken wings as he waited for Minsuk to show. Finally, the younger man walked up to him with a newspaper and sat down.
> 
> "Good, you're finally here..." he muttered, rolling his eyes.
> 
> "Do you want this or not?" Minsuk asked, raising an eyebrow and patting the briefcase he'd brought with him.
> 
> "Yes, yes, give it here..." he sighed, holding out his hand into which Minsuk placed a tiny, flat black disk and a larger black contraption around the size of a giant two-way radio. Jinki laid the GPS receiver down on the bar and turned the disk over in his hand, examining it. "You've done really well with this...it's great," he said in a rare but sincere compliment to his associate.
> 
> "Yeah, it's not even been released yet so, um...don't get caught, okay?" Minsuk replied and scratched his head slightly, waving the bartender over and ordering a scotch.
> 
> Two days later, Jinki had woken especially early in the morning and snuck downstairs silently, glancing toward the couch to make sure his guest was asleep. He then walked toward the table in the hall and picked up the boy's watch, turning it over and placing the tiny black disk on the back of the watch's face. Now he'd be able to keep track of the kid's movements, and if he went somewhere shady to get information from Shadow he'd know about it. Smirking at his own success, he turned and went back upstairs to go back to sleep.

* * *

Taemin rushed back to the apartment, gathering all his things and glaring at anything that moved. How the hell could Jinki do such a thing? The way he'd talked that morning made it seem like he trusted him completely, and then he went and told his old partner or whoever all about it..? He kicked the couch, biting his lip and feeling his eyes water as he realized he'd lost everything...again. He wondered if Jinki had told the other guys about everything--even the personal things--and if they'd all had a good laugh at his expense. The bastard was probably as straight as they came, and just used him to get back at him or something. He picked up his backpack, his cellphone and his watch, turning the phone off and putting the watch on his wrist. After changing jackets and hats so he wouldn't look exactly the same, he kicked the couch one more time and turned, walking out of the apartment. If Shadow was back, he knew exactly where he had to go.

Jinki was sitting in the office of his former boss, glaring at the man as Minsuk looked on helplessly at the staring contest that was taking place.

"Give me the GPS, now," the older man said sternly like he was scolding his child for playing with matches.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Jinki, sitting back in the chair and sighing. "I have no idea why I'm here, really."

"Would you stop? Just once, would you stop with the bullshit and do what's right?" he replied, his eye twitching slightly at his 'problem child'.

Jinki just rolled his eyes. "Who are you to say what's right? Hm? Besides, you can't boss me around...I'm a civilian," he said with a huff, mentally sticking out his tongue at the man. Minsuk just stood and walked out, sighing and looking at Jinki before he left with a sort of apologetic expression.

"Good God...Lee Jinki, give me the damn GPS receiver or I swear to all that's holy I'll throw you in prison."

"Yeah right, you don't have the authority to do that...it's mine and you're not getting it."

"I'll give you money," the older man said, leaning forward in his chair like he knew he was winning.

"Oh...money?" Jinki asked, blinking and sitting forward as well. "How much? Six million? Sixty million?" he asked, standing up as his face turned into one of disgust. "You make me sick, you know? I'm leaving." Turning his back on the man he once had to answer to, he walked out of his office to the sounds of screams and curses being thrown at him.

He walked down the hall and passed the tech lab, blinking and pressing his face to the window at what he was seeing: they had another receiver, and they were tracking Taemin right now; he could see the little dot moving along the highway headed toward the bus station. "Son of a bitch..." he groaned and broke out into a run; he needed to get to his car and fast, because if he didn't find Taemin before the NIS did he would count it the worst mistake he'd ever made.

He jumped into the jeep and pulled out of the parking garage, getting out his cellphone immediately and dialing Taemin; he also realized he had him as his number two on speed dial. "Taemin-ah," he said frantically into the receiver at the tone, "please pick up, you have to pick up...I need to tell you something. Taemin-ah, take off your watch and throw it away. There's a tracker on it and they can see where you are right now...please just listen to this and throw it away...please," he begged, sighing as the phone beeped again signalling that his message had reached the maximum length and had been cut off. He pulled out his own GPS receiver and turned it on, staring at the dot that was now moving swiftly from the bus station toward the downtown area.

* * *

Taemin had made it to the bus station and found what he was meant to see, a sign that had been out of place for its location but was meant to be at an event downtown where a Professor Kim was speaking about reunification. He recognized the name, recalling the night he'd spoken to the professor in his car before telling him he'd never see him again. Well, so much for that.

He stole a small black sedan from the station's parking lot, getting in and driving as fast as he could toward his target location. Once he'd arrived, he jumped out of the car and hurried into the building so no one would see him. He walked down long hallways filled mostly with university students, pushing people out of his way as he headed toward the main atrium. There he spotted Shadow among the crowd, and began to make his way inconspicuously toward him.

"It's been a long time," he said softly as he stood at last beside the man he'd learned from for many years.

"I can already feel the bloodbath..." murmured Shadow, his words reminiscent of the last time they'd met like this. The old man walked through the crowd, making his way toward the elevators and glancing up at the clock. "It's time."

They stepped into the next available lift, and Taemin held the door open button as he was instructed while the Shadow watched from behind an elderly couple. Sure enough, at that exact moment a small detail of guards came through the lobby, and among them was the professor himself; he looked toward the elevator and saw Taemin, his eyes widening slightly when he saw who stood beside him.

The Shadow pushed the elderly couple apart, raising his gun and firing it at Professor Kim and missing only slightly, hitting one of his guards square in the chest. Taemin followed him out of the elevator, the plan having changed obviously, and watched as more guards ran down the stairs toward them. He ran up the steps to cut them off, throwing one over the railing and punching the other in the gut so he fell down the rest of the way, landing lifeless at the bottom. Taemin picked up the latter man's gun and hurried after Shadow who was already on the move.

They followed Professor Kim out into the street, Shadow firing a few more shots in his direction as he got into a black car which sped off. Taemin stopped short, having nearly run into his ex-mentor since the old man seemed to have given up the chase as well. The Shadow was pulling out a cellphone, pressing a number for speed dial and holding it up to his ear.

"Coming toward you," he said simply and shut the phone, tucking it back into his jacket pocket. Taemin blinked and watched the car nearing the intersection.

Just as the sedan passed through the light, two separate vans came from opposite directions and crushed it neatly between them, the noise and force of the crash loud enough to set car alarms off all the way down the street. Taemin broke into a run, heading toward the scene of the accident alongside Shadow, and walked up to the car that had been crushed. He saw one of the doors open, and a trail of blood leading from it to the far street corner and onto the sidewalk. "There," he called, but the Shadow was already moving toward the blood trail like a shark in its hunting grounds. He followed the old man down the sidewalk, spotting the professor limping ahead and looking like he was almost dead already. Shadow fired off a few more shots, one of them hitting the man in the leg and nearly taking him down. Taemin watched as he dodged into a building and hurried to follow, the Shadow right behind him.

Their trail of blood took them to the top of the building, all the way up to the roof, and as they stepped out he saw the professor standing with his back to the edge of the roof, staring back at them like a deer caught in headlights.

"This is your chance: our nation has given you one last opportunity to prove yourself," said Shadow in his ear, his voice no more than a murmur that made his very blood run cold within his veins. He stepped toward the professor, slipping his knife from his pocket and lunging for the man, stabbing him firmly in the gut. As he sank to sit against the wall, his body trembling with the effort to just stay alive, Taemin could see the very real fear in his eyes...and he froze. The Shadow, seeing this, walked up beside him and glared.

"What are you waiting for?" he hissed. "Finish the job." Taemin gripped the double-edged blade a bit tighter, but before he could do anything he heard a voice calling his name.

"Taemin-ah! Lee Taemin-ah!" cried Jinki, stumbling onto the rooftop and looking around until he spotted Taemin standing over the body of a barely-breathing older man. "Taemin-ah...what are you doing? Where's Shadow?" he asked as he rushed toward the younger man. "Here, there's no time...give me your watch. There's a GPS tracker in it, the NIS knows your position and they'll trace you within minutes--why didn't you answer your phone? We have to throw this away." He pulled the watch from Taemin's wrist and chucked it as hard as he could off the rooftop and into the distance. He glanced up at Taemin's far-off expression and frowned. "What's wrong..?" he asked, turning slowly to look at whatever Taemin was seeing. He spotted Shadow hiding inside a doorway, and watched as he raised his gun...

Then he felt something like a bee sting to his stomach, and he turned back toward Taemin as he heard a series of grotesque squelching sounds, like someone was gutting a pig. After a few more of the noises and a slight feeling of something connecting with his stomach, Jinki was pushed backward and fell, laying on the ground like a dead man. The Shadow emerged, staring at Taemin with watchful eyes until the professor decided to speak.

"Did the party send you...who sent you?" he asked, his voice raspy as he struggled to breathe, gurgling slightly and coughing up a dark wad of blood.

"What is he saying?" asked Taemin, but The Shadow just stepped over Jinki's body and walked closer to the old man, pointing his gun at his head and firing it twice in a row. "Traitor...talks too damn much," he muttered, turning his gaze on Taemin who was frowning at him in disbelief.

"It wasn't an order from above?" he asked, his voice small with the pain he was feeling inside at what he'd just taken part in, something that wasn't even a real chance to redeem himself to his country. "You killed Taesoon on your own..?"

The Shadow walked around Taemin, who turned so he was still facing him. "Killing traitors is a priveleged job for our nation," explained Shadow as he stepped over Jinki again to get closer to Taemin, who backed toward the edge of the roof. "You've become one of them," he murmured and raised his gun, pointing it at Taemin's chest, right at his heart.

"No...I've never betrayed anyone," Taemin said earnestly. "I'm not a traitor."

"Oh?" came his reply, and the Shadow just stared at him for a moment like maybe, just maybe, he believed him. Then, his expression changed into an all-knowing smirk, and he pressed the gun just a little harder against Taemin's heart.

"Didn't you try to defect your family?"

Taemin felt like his heart was already stopped: his little sister, and their baby brother...what had become of them?

"...What happened to my family?" he asked reluctantly, his eyes watering as he thought of them and all that could have gone wrong.

"What do you think?" the Shadow replied, chuckling as tears began to fall down Taemin's cheeks; just then, Jinki coughed and the old man turned as if to shoot him...but Taemin grabbed the gun and held it firmly to his chest where it had been before. Jinki scrambled to his feet and held his own gun to the Shadow's head, panting and looking down to his shirt which was stained with blood that for the most part wasn't his. "Taemin, you idiot..." he muttered, and the younger dropped the knife from his hand slowly, blood dripping down since he'd been cutting his own hand instead of stabbing Jinki in the first place; he'd just punched him hard enough to knock him down for a few minutes.

"What happened to them?" he asked insistently, the tears freely flowing now. The Shadow just glanced at Jinki, who was glaring at him and holding the gun like he meant business. The old man spoke up, but not to Taemin. "If you don't drop the gun, he'll die," he said menacingly, placing his finger on the trigger.

"Go ahead," said Taemin with a voice as hollow as his heart felt at the moment. "Do it..." he muttered, moving the gun so it was right in front of his face. "Kill me."

It all seemed to happen in an instant: Taemin reached out and pushed Jinki back just as Shadow tried to turn again to shoot him. Jinki stumbled and fell to the ground, the gun sliding away from him as he stood up as quickly as he could. Taemin pulled Shadow back with him, pulling the gun toward his own chest again and backing up all the way to the edge of the roof. He felt the short wall behind him and twisted, at the same moment Shadow fired the gun and he felt the bullet sink into him. The two tumbled off the roof, breaking through a stone awning and landing several stories down in the adjacent alley.

Jinki ran to the edge of the roof, crying out as he watched Taemin fall and felt his heart seize in his chest. He looked over the edge, not seeing Shadow but only Taemin lying motionless on his back amidst debris caused by the fall.

He couldn't be dead.

Jinki would kill himself if he was. He just couldn't live with this on his conscience, and the loss of one more person he cared so deeply about.

He grabbed his gun and ran down the stairs, tripping over his own feet as he tried to hurry to get to Taemin. He had to get there on time, he just had to...he couldn't let Taemin be alone like this. He ran out of the building and spotted Minsuk and a whole host of other agents running toward the alleyway. Moments later, he heard screams.

"Shadow's alive!" Minsuk called into his radio, motioning for all the agents to stay back. It appeared that Shadow was behind a dumpster, though Taemin was laying in plain view. Jinki pressed through the crowd of agents, all of them struggling against him and trying to keep him away from the alley, away from Taemin.

"Taemin-ah!" he screamed, fighting the agents to get down into the alley. "I can't, he could still be alive, I can't just stand here!" he called, finally breaking through and running toward him. He felt a bullet enter his side as he dove toward Taemin, landing beside him and groaning as he felt another bullet in his leg...at least he was laying between Taemin and the Shadow, so he wouldn't be hurt any more. He rolled slightly, looking over his shoulder at the man sitting propped up between two dumpsters with a gun pointed directly toward him, and raised his own gun, shooting once and hitting the killer in the neck. The Shadow slumped over, dead at last, and Jinki turned back to Taemin who was coughing up more blood than he could stand to lose.

"Taemin-ah...Taeminnie...please, please stay awake, stay with me," he whispered and held onto him, holding him close. He felt a frail hand grab at his side, and saw Taemin staring up at him and through him.

"I never b-betrayed anyone," he stammered, coughing and spitting more blood onto the ground beside him. "T-Tell them, I never did..." he murmured, staring up at Jinki with tears running from his eyes and down the sides of his face into his chocolate brown, blood-matted hair. Jinki just ran a hand over his face, stroking his cheek softly as he too felt tears running down his face. "I will, I promise, just please stay...please don't go," he whispered, leaning down and kissing the younger man on the cheek. "Please..."

Just then he felt himself being rolled over onto a stretcher, and they were taking him away from Taemin again. "N-No, he's breathing, please help him, you can't leave him!" he cried, groaning as he was shoved into an ambulance and crying out in desperation, reaching out and wishing he could grasp that now-familiar hand one last time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee Jinki is a clumsy but well-meaning agent for the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS). Lee Taemin is a protegé of the Shadow, a seasoned and bloodthirsty North Korean assassin. When a job goes wrong for both men, their respective agencies and nations abandon them. Six years later, a union is formed as the two pretend not to know each other, hoping to use the other to achieve their own ends.

Jinki pulled the steaming pot of stew off the stove, walking over to his small table and setting it in the center along with the other dishes he'd prepared. He scooped some rice from the cooker and took it over, sitting in his seat and beginning his meal alone. He stared at the empty chair across from him, sighing as he recalled a time when Taemin had cooked this same sort of meal, back before things were complicated.

Well, who was he kidding? Things had always been complicated between them, from the first moment they'd met. Enemies, then strangers, then coworkers, then friends, then something more...it didn't get much more complex than that. He smiled at the memory of the one he could now admit he loved, more than anyone he'd ever met before. Ironic, that it would be someone who began as his enemy...someone who tried to kill him on more than one occasion...someone who from birth was trained to hate him and all those like him. Life was funny that way, he supposed.

He took another spoonful of the stew, bringing it to his lips and chewing thoughtfully as he savored the "real" food he'd prepared for himself. Taemin would be proud of him, if he were to see him doing so well. He'd be happy knowing that although he still loved his fast food chicken, he could and would more often cook for himself if only to remind himself of the one who taught him the importance of savoring what's good.

Jinki smiled at that thought, then turned as he heard the mail slot on his door open and shut again. He got up and walked over, glancing at the plaque on his wall he'd received from the NIS for courage or something like that. He'd regained his honor, and though he was offered his old position he'd politely declined. There were things more precious than what money could buy, and he'd rather have those than to have his old job back. He bent to pick up the small white envelope that had arrived, glancing at the unfamiliar zip code--was it government property? He opened it and pulled out a piece of thick, folded paper which he unfolded, revealing it to be a plane ticket in his name. He smiled as he pulled out the second piece of paper, a simple letter written in all-too familiar handwriting.

> 'Yeobo',
> 
> I've recovered well, and I'm doing alright. I hope you are, too. Isn't it Jonghyun's birthday soon? Go and see him for a change. Don't just stay home and wonder.
> 
> Perhaps it's time for me to leave for somewhere familiar. I don't think I belong here either. It seems too hard to buy a house and raise my family here...but if there's any chance, we'll meet again.
> 
> Love,
> 
> Taemin

* * *

He stepped onto the escalator, riding it up to the floor where he was told he could find his gate. Glancing at the signs, he finally saw the flight to Beijing lit up on gate C6, to which he began to walk. He was stopped by someone calling his name, and turned to see his most recent employee, the former Korean-Vietnamese gangster whom he'd like to think he successfully rehabilitated. Well, sort of. The man walked up to him and grinned, his round face making his eyes disappear with the smile.

"Boss, here's the newest thing from Japan: it does internet, and movies, and music too," he said, thrusting a gift bag into Jinki's hands and bowing to him. "I'm sure your son will love it." With that, he turned and fished his ringing cellphone from the pocket of his tacky tracksuit. "Hello, this is the International Task Force," he said in an almost comically official tone as he waved goodbye to Jinki and walked away. Jinki sighed...he hoped his business would survive under the leadership of the somewhat incapable ex-gang leader.

He placed his bag in the overhead compartment, sitting down in an aisle seat. On the other side sat a man with a newspaper. On the other side of him were two small children, one a girl who looked to be around Jonghyun's age, and beside her a little boy no older than seven. Jinki smiled at the kids and wondered where their mother was, sighing as a flight attendant walked up to him.

"Excuse me miss...is there an open bar on this flight?" he asked a bit wearily. He'd never been too fond of flying, and figured that the only way to do it was to get reasonably wasted before they got in the air.

"Yes, sir, may I get you something?" the stewardess asked politely, and Jinki nodded. He ordered a whiskey, the best they had, and sat back in his seat to wait for it. Suddenly, from across the aisle, he heard a voice mocking him.

"Only a village idiot drinks whiskey before take-off," the voice said in an informative tone, and he turned his head sharply to see the little girl laughing away at the snide comment. "Honestly...how could someone who only ever eats chicken know the difference between what's good and what isn't?"

Jinki blinked, wondering what the hell was going on, when the man slowly folded the paper and revealed his face.

Taemin. His Taemin.

"Taemin-ah," he said happily, chuckling as he took in the elaborate joke that had been played on him. He smiled at him across the aisle, and felt his insides warm when Taemin readily smiled back. The stewardess came back with his whiskey, and he sat it on the table in front of him; he wasn't going to need it.

As he reached his hand out into the aisle, he saw Taemin do the same...and when their fingers touched, and their hands clasped together like they were made for one another, Jinki knew that he would be just fine. In fact, from now on...everything would be perfect.


End file.
